Customer Reviews:
 Man is the only common foe of man August 4, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This novel is a forceful combination of political / social / judicial criticism, thriller elements and a powerful investigation into the real nature of man.
Politically, the author castigates the chasm between what one ought to do and reality: `We that are rich must do every thing in our power to lighten the yoke of these unfortunate people. We must not use the advantage that accident has given us with an unmerciful hand.' Nevertheless, `wealth and despotism easily know how to engage those laws as the coadjutor of their oppression, which were perhaps at first intended for the safeguards of the poor.'
Justice is totally biased: `Mr. Falkland is a man of rank and fortune; he is your master. I am a poor country lad without a friend in the world. That is a ground of real difference ...but it is not a sufficient ground for the subversion of justice.'
But, `law has neither eyes, nor ears, nor bowels of humanity; and it turns into marble the hearts of all those that are nursed in its principle.'
Socially, the system is fundamentally corrupt, a synonym for `tyranny and perfidiousness exercised by the powerful members of the community against those who were less privileged than themselves.'
Godwin's vision of the world is pessimistic: `Accursed world! that hates without a cause' that overwhelms innocence with calamities which ought to be spared even to guilt! Accursed world! dead to every manly sympathy; with eyes of horn, and hearts of steel!'
His picture of fundamental human selfishness, of pure evil and of despotic and resentful emotions and actions is impressive. He is baffled by man's `hero'worship: `Man is surely a strange sort of creature, who never praise any one more heartily than him who has spread destruction and ruin over the face of nature.'
He sees however one bright spot: freedom of the mind: `The mind is master of itself; and is endowed with powers that might enable to laugh at the tyrant's vigilance.'
The novel has one minus point: its final with an ultimate reversal in the psychological warfare. It seems incredible and improbable (a destruction by suspicion).
However, it is a very compelling read, a real discovery.
Not to be missed.
Put it down. I dare you. November 9, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Caleb Williams was written in a time of national drama - 6 people had been arrested for treason,this governmental paranoia stemming from the horrors of the French Revolution. Godwin perfectly encapsulates this atmosphere of claustrophobia and tension in this novel, which traces the wretched life of a man whose curiosity about his master's past leads him into dark waters. Accused falsely of theft, Caleb finds himself endlessly pursued and castigated, a once free-spirited young man become a social pariah. With its breathless, unrelenting plot, Caleb Williams is the kind of novel that, cliche or not, it is almost impossible to put down (something which Godwin himself found upsetting- remarking that it was soul-destroying that a novel he'd spent years on should be devoured in a few days!). With its nod to the Gothic and seamless psychological verisimilitude, Godwin produced a novel far beyond his own time.
Haunting Political Novel August 3, 2002
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Godwin creates a haunting epic of a doomed character, Caleb Williams, who fights against the aristocratic Falkland. Experiencing fears, imprisonment, and moral dilemma, he has to decide what is right and waht is wrong.
Written in 1793, reflecting Godwin's theoretical work Political Justice, this novel becomes a classic in critical / anarchist / open minded thought. Weaving philosophical critique and writing skills togetherm Godwin is able to catch any reader from the very (haunting) start...
 Caleb Williams has something to offer most readers December 8, 2000
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is a novel that will appeal to a variety of readers. Having aspects of the gothic, psychological novel, pursuit novel, adventure and the political polemic, Caleb Williams has something to offer everyone who enjoys classic fiction. The work is split roughly into thirds; the first telling the history of Falkland, the protagonist, the second focussing on Williams' imprisonment, and the final following Williams as he is pursued across the country. Each section has a different pace, and is concerned with revealing differing aspects of Williams' psychology in the face of adversity. Godwin wrote the novel shortly after finishing a political work, and Caleb Williams reveals the author's dissatisfaction with society. Having said this, the casual reader would by no means find these elements of the novel obtrusive. Mary Shelley dedicated Frankenstein to 'the author of Caleb Williams'(her father), and in many ways Godwin's novel can be viewed as an inspiration for Shelley's masterpiece. Although not perhaps a candidate for the canon of English literature, Caleb Williams is worthy of far more attention than it has received.
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