Lilith (Novel II)

For other uses of the name Lilith, see Lilith (disambiguation).

Cover of Lilith by J. R. Salamanca.

Lilith is a novel written by J. R. Salamanca. It has also been made into an American movie of the same name. When it was first published in 1961, Lilith sold a million copies, which was quite impressive for a book at that time.

Book Details

• Name: Lilith
• Author: J. R. Salamanca
• Pages: 381
• Language: English
• Publisher: Welcome Rain Publishers
• ISBN-10: 156649124X
• ISBN-13: 978-1566491242
• Release Date: 1961 (Original Printing), April 1, 2000 (Re-Print)

Summary

Set in a private mental institution, the novel tells of a trainee occupational therapist Vincent Bruce who becomes dangerously obsessed with a seductive, very able, schizophrenic patient Lilith Arthur and how their relationship spirals out of control.

Book Review

The following review can be found at the Amazon.com link in the external links listing below.

• 5 of 5 stars
• A Haunting Novel That Won't Let You Go
• Reviewed On: October 25, 2001
• Reviewed By: legmuffin

I have one minor complaint with this novel, and it centers around the somewhat misleading cover of the book, which describes the story as "one woman's electrifying obsession." There certainly is an obsession in this book, but that belongs to the narrator, Vincent Bruce, not to Lilith, as the cover would have you believe. After finishing the novel, I blacked out the "wo" which just left "man's obsession," which seemed to me to be a more accurate description of the story within.

Vincent, the main character, uses the telling of his story as a way to absolve and purge himself of his experiences with Lilith, a patient he cares for at the mental center where he works. He not only falls in love, but becomes "obsessed" with her. The second half of this novel mostly centers on his attraction to her, and how he compromises his duties as Lilith's caretaker with his feelings of love for her, a woman she herself describes as "mad."

I don't want to give away too much of the story, but the prose in which it is told is both excellent and sensitive. I can't tell you how this book got under my skin! This novel succeeds in disturbing the reader, such is the brilliance of the text. It is seldom that a book really affects me as this one did. Salamanca portrays the story as if it really happened, as if it is a work of truth rather than fiction.

It's a sad story, but one conveyed through beautiful language. Indeed, there were many passages where I felt like crying while reading them. As much as a reader can, you care for Vincent, and you care about what happens to him, and worry (as he does) about his ultimate destiny. He's a directionless figure, who just wants to succeed at something, and make a good life for himself filled with meaning, as his absent mother wished him to do.

I urge you to read this book. And I ask, as another reviewer here does, "Why is this book neglected?" Perhaps you will read it and ask yourself the same question.

External links

• This novel at Amazon.com