A beautiful gothic story that comes close to getting lost in abstraction but pulls through due to Perry's magnificent command of the language and her ability to wring pathos out of the smallest moments. Could have done without the ghost; the whole book is haunted.

I'm sorry to say that I didn't like this very much, although I've enjoyed plenty of Perry's other novels. While I appreciate her ability to capture the past or particular moment sin language, this was very artificially mannered. I'm sure this is intentional, but to write about AIDS in language that might have fit in just fine in much earlier periods of literature ( honestly anywhere from Austen to Woolf) made me feel almost angry, because the heightened, sparse language allowed the characters and third-person narrator to tiptoe around the callousness of the government and the anger and fear and deaths of so many people. Thomas and Grace and their relations all live within a straitjacket of limited words and actions, unable to show true human behavior in any way. And this limitation further seemed to forbid much emotion on the part of the reader, making the reading of Thomas's discoveries very limited rather than celebratory in any way. It's a claustrophobic novel, not a pleasure to read.

In this entrancing follow-up to The Essex Serpent, 2 unlikely and eccentric friends share a common religious affinity, as well as. an interest in the natural world beyond their small village. After a casual betrayal, they go their separate ways, only to find their way back together for a common cause, cementing their affection: emotionally, scientifically, and philosophically. This is a stand=out story, beautifully told, that demanded later reflection, and still resonates.

4.5* rounded up
The story encompasses twenty years in the lives of Thomas Hart—a fifty-year old lifelong bachelor who works as a columnist writer for the Essex Chronicle–, and Grace Macaulay, Thomas’ seventeen-year-old friend and fellow attendee of Bethesda Baptist Church in the town of Aldleigh, Essex, England. When the newspaper for which Thomas writes starts losing readers, circa 1997, the newly-minted editor gives Thomas the assignment to change his usual writing topic and try writing about astronomy and the newly approaching comet Hale-Bopp instead. What begins as a passing interest becomes an obsession when Thomas receives news that a ghost that is rumored to haunt the mansion located on the grounds where Bethesda Chapel is built on, may be the wife of the original mansion’s owner, Maria Vaduva Bell, a woman both elusive and fascinating—she was an amateur astronomer and left a diary that ends in Thomas’ hands.

Alternating between full on narration, Thomas Hart’s articles, Thomas’s and Maria’s epistolaries, and Maria’s diary entries, emerges the story of a ghost urging Thomas Hart to keep on learning and searching for answers, the ups and downs of Thomas and Grace’s friendship, and Maria’s quest to earn—through Thomas—her rightful place in history.

With easy prose, an all-knowing narrator (3rd person), and beautiful metaphors that give this novel a gothic, atmospheric (rainy weather adds to it) feel, Enlightenment is a literary page-turner that wrestles with the earthly and the divine, the spiritual and the supernatural, with matters of the flesh and of the heart. It addresses themes of longing, unrequited and lost love, faith and the loss of it, friendship, and science.

Entrancing, absorbing…An absolute winner!

Thanks to the publisher for granting me access to a free digital copy via Netgalley.

Sarah Perry's style of writing may not be to everyone's taste- it's weighty and poetic. It can take some time to really immerse yourself in one of her books, but it's worth it. Telling the story of Thomas Hart, a man living two distinct and separate lives, and Grace Macaulay, a girl on the edge of adulthood who is unsure on how she wants to live, this is a book about lost and unrequited love, theology and the passing of time. There is some astronomy, philosophy and even a mystery with a ghost tossed in there, but this is more a reflection on the relentless passing of time and regrets than a supernatural mystery. Hart's story is relatable and heartbreaking. As Hart is a columnist for a local paper, the book is interspersed with passages from 'his' writings on time, space, comets and life that were beautifully written and memorable. The story is slow, but evenly paced.

This is a book I would recommend to someone looking for a story with depth and emotional resonance over action and thrills.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an advance ebook. My opinions are my own.

I'm afraid I didn't have the necessary determination to make it through this book. Her prose is so luscious but it hard work to get the content from the prose and while I very much appreciate such excellent writing, when it becomes primary over the story, I give up. Sorry!

Several years ago, I read and enjoyed Sarah Perry’s The Essex Serpent, so I was eager to read an advance copy of her newest novel, Enlightenment, due to be published in early June 2024.

Sarah Perry writes beautifully, but this is one dense piece of fiction! I would call it . . . an effort-ful read. The characters are not fully “visible” over the course of the novel. I don’t think I’m describing that adequately. It’s not like they’re undeveloped, exactly. It’s more that as a reader, you never “see” them - or get to know them - fully, and they appear to just fade in and out of the narrative. Maybe that’s intentional, and part of the ghost-like quality of the story. But for me as a reader, I had a hard time connecting with the story because I wasn't connecting with the characters.

The pacing is uneven, which also contributes to the effort-fulness of the novel. It took me a long time (well over 50 pages) to find my initial way into the story. And then once I did engage, I found the story either completely compelling OR a total slog.

That said, I’m glad I did put in the effort. I appreciate the author’s genre-defying story structure, as well as the effective way she combined the themes of science, religion, and mysticism. The ending is beautifully written and helped to pull loose ends together. But . . . it was a LOT to wade through to get there! In the end, I think it was an interesting story told in an interesting way. There is much to like. Just be aware . . . it is an effort-ful read, and you will want to have your wits about you, especially in the opening pages.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published in the United States on June 4, 2024.

4 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Mariner Books for an advance copy of this novel.

I did not finish this book, and stopped at 10%. The writing was very beautiful and full of imagery. I was surprised by every turn of phrase, as the author drew up memories/images I didn't know I had.
However, I found it challenging to read continuously. It was dense and inaccessible at times, so I decided to put this down for the time being. While book did not work for me personally, but I do wish to check out other titles from this author.