A new review
I recently completed reading the book ZISKA: THE PROBLEM OF A WICKED SOUL, by Marie Corelli. The following is my review:
Title: ZISKA: The Problem of a Wicked Soul
Author: Marie Corelli
Publisher: Valancourt Books, Kansas City, KS
Copyright: 2009
My review refers to this edition and ONLY this edition.
For my 25th birthday, a friend bought me a “shot” of 25-year-old Macallan single malt scotch. At that time, it cost $27.00, so needless to say, it was a sipper and not a shooter. Upon putting the small snifter to my nose, the bouquet was amazingly complex and brought about euphoric olfactory sensations not often experienced. Upon the first sip, my mouth was filled with an amazing plethora of sensations - one from each different side of my mouth. Similarly, I experienced such a bouquet of sensations while reading Ziska, by Marie Corelli.
While only 155 pages long, Ziska is filled with hints, suggestions, ideas, and symbolism. A reader encounters feminism and female sexuality, arguments against the upper class, questions about the definition of love, questions about life and death and the presence or lack of presence of an afterlife, and in the end, is filled with the desire to make amends for any wrongs she/he has accidentally or intentionally perpetrated upon other people. Even with all of this, or perhaps because of all this, the story remains cohesive, maintaining the attention of the reader throughout. This is certainly aided by the fact that the story is set in a place that has an intrigue and mystery of its own - Egypt. With the ancient pyramids, hidden tombs, hidden treasure, and secret entrances, this story easily fits with many of the trends in current literature. As Dr. Curt Herr, writer of the introduction tells the reader, Ziska was a best-seller in 1897, right along side Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Richard Marsh’s The Beetle. Upon reading Ziska, it is easy to see why.
ZISKA is available at the following links. It also can be ordered from your locally-owned bookseller.
ZISKA from Amazon.com
ZISKA from Barnes & Noble