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The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (Oxford World's Classics)
 
 
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The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

by Herman Melville (Author), Tony Tanner (Editor), John Dugdale (Editor) "AT sunrise on a first of April,* there appeared, suddenly as Manco Capac at the lake Titicaca,* a man in creamcolours, at the water-side in..." (more)
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks; New edition edition (29 Jul 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0192837621
  • ISBN-13: 978-0192837622
  • Product Dimensions: 19.3 x 12.2 x 2.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 887,684 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #63 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > M > Melville, Herman

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Product Description

Review
"A challenging text....An excellent edition--very useful introduction, appendices, and explanatory notes."--Kenneth D. Pimple, Indiana University


Product Description
Male, female, deft, fraudulent, constantly shifting: which of the `masquerade' of passengers on the Mississippi steamboat Fidèle is `the confidence man'? The central motif of Melville's last and most `modern' novel can be seen as a symbol of American cultural history.
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AT sunrise on a first of April,* there appeared, suddenly as Manco Capac at the lake Titicaca,* a man in creamcolours, at the water-side in the city of St. Louis.* Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A though nut to crack, but a satisfying one too, 25 Oct 2007
By Didier (Ghent, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
As the previous reviewer remarked, this is indeed no easy book by any standard. It's the last book Melville wrote, and if "Moby Dick" may at times be obscure and require explanatory notes, "The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade" is a real puzzle.

It's a reflection on many themes, but the central one is Melville's assumption that if, as the American dream has it, anyone can become anything he desires, who then can we still trust to be what he professes to be? Melville consequently tries to delude his readers too. There is not a single narrator for instance but many, and even that is not straightforward: you have to deduce from tiny details in the text which narrator is speaking in each of the 45 chapters.

It could be argued that Melville is taking the literary type of the 'picaro' to its extreme in this novel. In its earliest form (e.g. in the novel "Lazarillo De Tormes" published as early as 1554) the picaro is a rogue or rascal living by his wits in a corrupt society by tricking others. In "The Confidence-man" Melville seems to be saying we've all become picaros, and none of us can be trusted. Small wonder the book was subject to some very negative reviews when it was first published in 1857. But I for one found that it is still relevant, even in 2007.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars A Difficult Read, 19 Jul 2002
By A Customer
There is no doubt that this is a difficult read. That said there are some comic parts to the book and Melville is I believe making the point that, in his view, the "American Dream" of life is not sustainable. It is possible that a further reading of the book may improve the understanding, that is if you could be bothered.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Underrated Melville Novel - His Last (includes *Spoiler*!), 7 Dec 2007
By A. S. Wrathall (Northern Ireland) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I came to this with some trepidation, thinking it would be unreadable and turgid, thanks to the proclamations of some critics and readers. Warning: don't believe the hype! This is a fantastic book.

True, Melville's melodramatic and portentous style (as readers of his other works will attest) can take a bit of getting used to; but once you get past that, his dry sense of humour and imagination come to the fore.

Plotwise, The Confidence Man is simple: passengers on a steamboat sailing down the Mississippi are bamboozled by a confidence man (or confidence men)into loaning or investing money, all the while being subjected to lectures on the themes of charity, trust and confidence. The actions of the novel begin at dawn and end (roughly) at midnight - on April Fool's Day!

Whether the character of the Confidence Man is angel or demon is left to the reader to decide. He asserts his belief in charity and trust in one's fellow human beings while duping them. Though the general tone throughout the book is light and humorous, towards the end a sinister aura begins to pervade the narrative, culminating in the Cosmopolitan ( the final guise of the trickster or possibly the core personality) leading an old man away into the darkness, the novel ending on the line:

"Something further may follow of this Masquerade".

Part of the fun in reading this book is spotting the tricksters, although in some cases there appear to be more than one confidence man working at the same time. It's worth re-reading as clues and hints are revealed which may not have been apparent first time round.

In short: an April Fool's Day comedy with a touch of menace. Try it! You won't be disappointed.



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