The Great When: A Long London Novel

“Like diving into a swimming pool filled with cold water, its hard at first and a bit a shock, but when one becomes accustomed to the temperature, it quickly becomes an enjoyable frolic.”

Perhaps best known for the dark reflection of the modern superhero comics, The Watchmen, which did for the genre what the earthquake of 1906 did for San Francisco, Alan Moore leaps from the colored comics into prose format with The Great When.

Some readers might shake their heads in doubt at the thought of a comic book writer taking on the written word to such an extent. What those skeptics do not know is that Moore already proved his genius with the written word with The Watchmen and V for Vendetta, he just decided to do away with those pesky illustrations.

If the reader really wishes to delve into the mind of Alan Moore, all they have to do is a little research into his bibliography. A master of Marvel and DC comics, he’s ranged far afield in his writing, so his reputation in comics is only a slight foreshadowing of his skill as a prose writer.

Dennis Knuckleyard (a tongue-in-cheek nod to the iconic, yet dorky heroes of British literature) works in a second-hand book shop for a woman with the improbable name of Coffin Ada in post war London, 1949. He comes upon a book, A London Walk, which should not exist because it was a fictional reference in horror writer Arthur Machen’s work. He comes to find that the book comes from a different London (called Long London), one in a different dimension.

Be warned, the first few pages of The Great When will most likely turn away the casual reader, filled as it is with dense, almost obtuse, prose that strains the reader’s ability to untie the Gordian Knot of the text. In short, the book revels in its excesses, forcing the reader to concentrate wholly upon the written word to the exclusion of all else to carry on to the later chapters.

Prose aside, the book is written with keen wit and an exacting eye, but often comes across as a bit pretentious, slapping the reader across the face with Moore’s acerbic wit. It takes a true appreciation for the written word to slog through the dense bits to appreciate the beauty of the writer’s narrative style.

At the end of the day, once the reader vibes with the flow of Moore’s narrative style, the book is enjoyable, although exhausting, as if the work is the prose version of the New York City Marathon. Once done, the reader might feel that they’ve accomplished a feat of patience and tenacity, only to be alarmed to realize this is just the first installment of a series, which can lead to dismay.

Like diving into a swimming pool filled with cold water, its hard at first and a bit a shock, but when one becomes accustomed to the temperature, it quickly becomes an enjoyable frolic.