Customer Reviews
Often overlooked, but a brilliant pice of English literature - By: Mr. A. Willmer, 11 Jan 2006 
'Vathek' the novel is peverse, twisted & politically incorrect to the extreme. The main protagonist himslef is likewise viscious & completely 'evil' if such a thing does exist. Yet it is perhaps these two facets that help to make 'Vathek' so compelling, so fresh & so orignal & down-right funny. That's right, if you have a wicked sense of humour & enjoy the odd toilet joke then this book is certainly for you.
However, it would be wrong to suggets that 'Vathek' is nothing more than a series of smutty jokes & grusome scenes. It is much more. Beckford supposedly wrote the novel within 48hrs - without sleep! In spite of this he has somehow managed to create a world that pushes the imaginative envelope to the extreme. This book will live with me for life. READ IT!
not an easy read - By: x, 09 Feb 2001 
I read Vathekin my late teens when I had a fascination with all things macabre. I was not dissapointed with Vathek on this point but what irritated me then, & still does now, is the rather contrived & inpenetrable stylein which it is written (or possibly translated). There is not much of a story to it, but some of the episodes are entertaining- I was particularly amused by the one about someone having half their beard burned off.
If you are a big fan of the gothic genre then you'll probably take great delightin Vathek, but for the more general reader it is something of a pain. The elements are there, it's just not done with enough finesse.
I read an unillustrated edition myself- I'm sure that Redon's illustrations add a lot to the reading experience.
