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Lilith
Soars above the world of mundane reality and lures its readers into a world of sinister fantasy and haunting unreality.―Orville Prescott, The New York TimesR
381 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
21 people are currently reading
808 people want to read
About the author
J.R. Salamanca
12 books11 followersJ.R. (Jack Richard) Salamanca was a Maryland-based novelist born in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1922. Raised in Florida and Virginia, Salamanca served for three years in the U.S. Army Air Corps and is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Royal Academy of Music and the University of London. For many years, he served as a professor of English and creative writing at the University of Maryland. Salamanca’s books, which have been published since the 1950s, probe the human condition by portraying unconventional relationships. Salamanca is best known for his 1961 bestseller Lilith.
Salamanca is the author of the novels The Lost Country (1958) Lilith (1961), A sea change (1969), Embarkation (1973) Southern Light (1986) and That Summer’s Trance (2000). Adaptations: The Lost Country was filmed as Wild in the country, Twentieth century-fox, 1961; The movie Lilith was directed by Robert Rossen for Columbia in 1964.
Salamanca is the author of the novels The Lost Country (1958) Lilith (1961), A sea change (1969), Embarkation (1973) Southern Light (1986) and That Summer’s Trance (2000). Adaptations: The Lost Country was filmed as Wild in the country, Twentieth century-fox, 1961; The movie Lilith was directed by Robert Rossen for Columbia in 1964.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
September 23, 2007
this is, without question, one of the most haunting books that I've ever read. I just thought about it again, and I became unsettled again. I got a literal shiver. This is a fantastic read. It is like Lolita, but the story has a better narrative arc and a more dramatic feeling instead of satirical. This book was popular when it came out, but its popularity waned since. This shouldn't have been the case. This is a fabulous, consistently overlooked text that should have far more supporters than it actually does.
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February 17, 2023READ THIS FUCKERS.
READ IT.
This is what is meant by "forgotten classic." Few people nowadays have heard of J.R. Salamanca, although apparently Lilith made quite a splash back in the '60s. This is a deeply creepy, unsettling novel that has a way of sneaking up on you. There's a lot of nothing happening, and that nothing happening is critical to the plot -- the mental hospital trope was everywhere in mid-century America, but this thankfully avoids the worst cliches by spending a lot of time dealing with the sheer banality of mental illness -- because you wind up thinking "shit... some everything is about to start happening." And then it does. And it is magnificent.
READ IT.
This is what is meant by "forgotten classic." Few people nowadays have heard of J.R. Salamanca, although apparently Lilith made quite a splash back in the '60s. This is a deeply creepy, unsettling novel that has a way of sneaking up on you. There's a lot of nothing happening, and that nothing happening is critical to the plot -- the mental hospital trope was everywhere in mid-century America, but this thankfully avoids the worst cliches by spending a lot of time dealing with the sheer banality of mental illness -- because you wind up thinking "shit... some everything is about to start happening." And then it does. And it is magnificent.
June 27, 2017
"She began, as she had promised, to teach me her language (...) There was only one conjugation, and I remember this remarkable fact about her nouns: they were divided into two categories, not of gender, but of darkness and light, each of which was differently declined. Under the declension of Light came such words as noise, thirst, action, man, survival, war, pride, art and life; and under that of Dark were silence, stillness, woman, peace, humility, perfection. This curious division gave to every noun - unlike most modern languages - a moral rather than a sexual quality, and provided fascinating material for speculation as to the basis of her assignment of a word to either category. (I remember, in this respect, that there were two distinct words for beauty, one connoting perfect beauty and one imperfect; the former being relegated to the Dark declension and the latter to the Light). Throughout the structure of her grammar there was evidence of this same preoccupation with paradox. All words which had an opposite, for example, were composed of the same letters as the antonym, spelled backwards (Paral - Light; Larap - Darkness); and a particularly subtle - and rather bewildering - feature was that for certain literary or liturgical purposes a noun might change its declension - that is, be transferred from the Light to the Dark category - thus altering completely the texture and atmosphere of the prose, as if rays of light had been shot suddenly through a shower of rain, producing rainbows of radiantly invoked meaning."
December 22, 2011
Written in the early '60's but still works today. It's about a young man who gets a job in an insane asylum and encounters Lilith, a gorgeous and sexually charged female nutcase. Our hero has a blast, for a while. Another good book Salamanca wrote was THE LOST COUNTRY. It was made into an Elvis Presley movie and renamed WILD IN THE COUNTRY. The story resonates today. It's about a teenage boy and his favorite teacher.
Salamanca must have exhausted himself on these two books. His subsequent work is junk.
Salamanca must have exhausted himself on these two books. His subsequent work is junk.
February 20, 2009
I actually think this is one of my favorite books. The way it is written, the thoughts expressed, and the fact that some of the scenes gave me deja vu. I don't know, I just couldn't stop writing down quotes and rereading passages.
Well, I liked it.
Well, I liked it.
October 30, 2017
i'm still trying to recover.
April 27, 2022
I truly do not know why this book is advertised as a horror novel, it is far from it. I disagree with the description portraying Lilith as evil, rather she is a traumatized girl and has thus become mentally unstable.
This book is actually a story about a man who had a confusing and lonely childhood where he had only really desired to feel real passion and joy in his life.
He unexpectedly gets this opportunity when he starts to work at the Lodge and meets Lilith. Out of her trauma, which isn't revealed till late in the book, she has created a complex and beautiful world revolving around experiencing and sharing love and joy with others.
This is a story of troubled yet passionate love and about the complexities of mental illness (schizophrenia in particular). There is scandal, there is passion, and there is suspense. It is hard to imagine how any of this can end in any way except dramatically.
While not a fast paced read, it is full of thoughtful moments, some heartfelt and some not so much, and I found myself enjoying it more than I had expected.
This book being written in the '60s, there are definitely some racist and slight sexist statements, but I did not find them overbearing or full of hate like it could have been. I am mainly mad at how the book description tried to portray this novel as horror, I can't imagine this being scary even in the '60s. Maybe they thought it would sell better this way, but if I hadn't been moved by the relationships in here I would've hated this book because it did not deliver it's promise. That being said, I did really enjoy this book, just for different reasons than my original purpose for buying it.
4.5 stars, mainly deducted because the beginning is a bit too slow and it could've done with even a bit more drama.
This book is actually a story about a man who had a confusing and lonely childhood where he had only really desired to feel real passion and joy in his life.
He unexpectedly gets this opportunity when he starts to work at the Lodge and meets Lilith. Out of her trauma, which isn't revealed till late in the book, she has created a complex and beautiful world revolving around experiencing and sharing love and joy with others.
This is a story of troubled yet passionate love and about the complexities of mental illness (schizophrenia in particular). There is scandal, there is passion, and there is suspense. It is hard to imagine how any of this can end in any way except dramatically.
While not a fast paced read, it is full of thoughtful moments, some heartfelt and some not so much, and I found myself enjoying it more than I had expected.
This book being written in the '60s, there are definitely some racist and slight sexist statements, but I did not find them overbearing or full of hate like it could have been. I am mainly mad at how the book description tried to portray this novel as horror, I can't imagine this being scary even in the '60s. Maybe they thought it would sell better this way, but if I hadn't been moved by the relationships in here I would've hated this book because it did not deliver it's promise. That being said, I did really enjoy this book, just for different reasons than my original purpose for buying it.
4.5 stars, mainly deducted because the beginning is a bit too slow and it could've done with even a bit more drama.
January 20, 2016
This book is 50 years old. It was highly lauded in it's day. I'm sure it was shocking and sensational at the time, before Sybil and The Many Faces of Eve and the Vietnam War. It's older than I am, yet I'm the cynic, apparently. The shocking plot twists I found mundane and predictable. None of the characters exceeded two dimensions. I don't speed read but again and again found myself scanning through pages of navel gazing that had no bearing on anything... literal lint to be brushed through on the way to the next plot point. WH Auden proclaimed Lilith the superior book to Lolita, a staggering claim from one of America's literary lights; a claim that prompted me to read the book. I can assure you, and save you the time of reading it, Lolita is the better book by far.
At a time when mental hospitals were not discussed in polite society, Lilith opened the door just a little and gave the public a sanitized, if unrealistic, glimpse inside the rubber room. I give it credit for that. Demerits for over-wordiness, thin plot, poor structure and lack of character development. For some reason the word "maudlin" keeps popping up. Sentimental. Too clean. Fails to elicit a passionate response to any character. I can't recommend this book except as a period study of public attitudes to mental health (and how the public and author chose to believe how it appeared versus how it really was). While I realize the author spent a summer working at a private sanitarium, he was ignorant of, or chose to gloss over, what was really happening there, which was the heart of the story. Without it, you're left with a mess. This societal paternalistic whitewashing would end within the decade. The 60s began, and no one had patience for this kind of writing anymore... which explains why it's long out of print. Maybe I just expect too much.
At a time when mental hospitals were not discussed in polite society, Lilith opened the door just a little and gave the public a sanitized, if unrealistic, glimpse inside the rubber room. I give it credit for that. Demerits for over-wordiness, thin plot, poor structure and lack of character development. For some reason the word "maudlin" keeps popping up. Sentimental. Too clean. Fails to elicit a passionate response to any character. I can't recommend this book except as a period study of public attitudes to mental health (and how the public and author chose to believe how it appeared versus how it really was). While I realize the author spent a summer working at a private sanitarium, he was ignorant of, or chose to gloss over, what was really happening there, which was the heart of the story. Without it, you're left with a mess. This societal paternalistic whitewashing would end within the decade. The 60s began, and no one had patience for this kind of writing anymore... which explains why it's long out of print. Maybe I just expect too much.
October 8, 2011
A friend encouraged me to read this, I forget why. We were discussing something about films, and I suppose one was made of this back in the 60's which I haven't seen (Jean Seberg and Warren Beatty). But the book was really more and less than I expected.
It is written in a very mannered, odd, poetry-like style. I was taken back to my school days and Thomas Hardy. Likewise, it goes into long detailed descriptions, but the language is simply gorgeous. Talk about literary fiction. The subject (for those of you who might not know) is of the mythic succubus, Lilith, who exists in many religions and cultures with slight variations--a wanton seductress without either conscience nor morals as we define them. In this book, she has her own set of values, her own 'fabricated' world of invisible people, and her own language. The pleasure of it is that she resides in an insane asylum, so it is all very fitting until one of the new attendants falls for her and then the very demons of his hell rush in. Not exactly a new story, but it is told in such an unusual and spellbinding way (to me, a poet in my own right), that I found it difficult to set aside, although it lacked the action and evil promise that the very name Lilith conjures. When it did hit on her worst actions, I felt the author pussyfooted around them instead of rendering them honestly with his own artful detail. Meanwhile it's an old book, and lesbians and child predators are hardly the stuff of mythic proportions these days. More like everyday folk. But given the beauty of the language and the ambition of the story, I have to admit I'm not sorry I read it. In this world of ordinary novels, this does take it's own place a notch above many because of its sheer joy of words.
It is written in a very mannered, odd, poetry-like style. I was taken back to my school days and Thomas Hardy. Likewise, it goes into long detailed descriptions, but the language is simply gorgeous. Talk about literary fiction. The subject (for those of you who might not know) is of the mythic succubus, Lilith, who exists in many religions and cultures with slight variations--a wanton seductress without either conscience nor morals as we define them. In this book, she has her own set of values, her own 'fabricated' world of invisible people, and her own language. The pleasure of it is that she resides in an insane asylum, so it is all very fitting until one of the new attendants falls for her and then the very demons of his hell rush in. Not exactly a new story, but it is told in such an unusual and spellbinding way (to me, a poet in my own right), that I found it difficult to set aside, although it lacked the action and evil promise that the very name Lilith conjures. When it did hit on her worst actions, I felt the author pussyfooted around them instead of rendering them honestly with his own artful detail. Meanwhile it's an old book, and lesbians and child predators are hardly the stuff of mythic proportions these days. More like everyday folk. But given the beauty of the language and the ambition of the story, I have to admit I'm not sorry I read it. In this world of ordinary novels, this does take it's own place a notch above many because of its sheer joy of words.
October 19, 2013
One of the only things I've read in a long time that had me going 150pp at a sitting. I'm writing a paper on the adaptation to film, and the story that made it to the screen is one of a number of stories, all intertwined, that live in the book. (I guess I'll have more to say when I'm done with the project.)
A little biased here, too, because the novel is set in Maryland, in the very county and town (although under a made-up name) where my parents grew up. The first quarter of the book abounds in description of this place, so it got an excellent hold on me from the start.
A little biased here, too, because the novel is set in Maryland, in the very county and town (although under a made-up name) where my parents grew up. The first quarter of the book abounds in description of this place, so it got an excellent hold on me from the start.
February 19, 2024
I read this as part of a challenge to explore 'hidden gems'. I find the fact that this book had so few ratings inexplicable, especially since it apparently was made into a movie with Warren Beatty. It had an intensity exploring mental health, schizophrenia in particular, that made this book so intriguing to me. It languished at times, but its raw unflinching exposure of the delusional capacity of the human mind was hard to look away from. I think the tagline is a misogynistic mislead though--it wasn't a woman's obsession this was about, but a man's!
May 25, 2016
One of my favorite books, haunting evocative moody and darkly beauty a run with sensual imagery and lush writing
April 25, 2018
I have actually had this copy of Lilith since the late 60s when I was in high school. It had been languishing in a box of old books along with paperback copies of Rosemary's Baby, Valley of the Dolls, and various novels of Harold Robbins. For some reason I never read this one until now so it was among my very oldest TBRs! Lilith was written in 1961 and was very popular for its time. In fact, it was made into a well-received movie in 1964 which starred Warren Beatty and Jean Seberg.
I probably bought this book at the time because of the cover blurb which states: A Novel of Sexual Obsession. However, I was surprised to find that this was a very well-written and compelling story about a young man, Vincent, who returns from WWII and goes to work in a local insane asylum where he meets and falls in love with Lilith. Lilith is a very exotic young woman who spends her time playing a wooden flute, enjoying the colored light from her prisms, and writing and illustrating her books. She, like all in the asylum, is a schizophrenic and who in her case sees other beings who tell her what to do and who speak another language which in fact Lilith has invented. She is also very beautiful and Vincent falls for her immediately. They get involved in a sexual affair which Vincent of course keeps secret from his superiors and coworkers at the asylum. But when another inmate falls for Lilith, a resulting tragedy takes place which resulted from Vincent's jealousy.
Overall, I would recommend this one and would consider it to be a forgotten classic that should legitimately be read more.
I probably bought this book at the time because of the cover blurb which states: A Novel of Sexual Obsession. However, I was surprised to find that this was a very well-written and compelling story about a young man, Vincent, who returns from WWII and goes to work in a local insane asylum where he meets and falls in love with Lilith. Lilith is a very exotic young woman who spends her time playing a wooden flute, enjoying the colored light from her prisms, and writing and illustrating her books. She, like all in the asylum, is a schizophrenic and who in her case sees other beings who tell her what to do and who speak another language which in fact Lilith has invented. She is also very beautiful and Vincent falls for her immediately. They get involved in a sexual affair which Vincent of course keeps secret from his superiors and coworkers at the asylum. But when another inmate falls for Lilith, a resulting tragedy takes place which resulted from Vincent's jealousy.
Overall, I would recommend this one and would consider it to be a forgotten classic that should legitimately be read more.
March 11, 2024
J.R. Salamanca is nearly the literate version of Vincent van Gogh, but yet, hasn’t been discovered.
July 3, 2013
This is a truly haunting book that captures how Vincent Bruce falls for the irresistible force that is Lilith Arthur, a patient at a private hospital for schizophrenics in rural Maryland. The author no doubt had first-hand experience at Chestnut Lodge in Rockville, Maryland and the 1964 movie based on the book (starring Jean Seberg and Warren Beatty) was apparently filmed in Rockville. As an aside, there could be no more perfect choice to play Lilith than Jean Seberg at the height of her glory.
The story is told in the first person, so we identify profoundly with Vincent as a young man struggling to find his way. The story is told so personally, so sensitively - and in prose that is so exquisite - that you become deeply attached to Vincent. The rural Maryland countryside is described beautifully in Salamanca's prose, and Vincent's magical relationship with the beguiling, blonde, and beautiful Lilith Arthur is rendered as powerfully as anything in American literature.
The inevitable denouement of Vincent's love affair is told with all the passion and heartbreak imaginable. Salamanca even uses Vincent's journal entries to add even more immediacy and believability to this lyrical tale.
I first read this as an 18-year-old freshman in college in 1976 (having just seen the luminous Ms. Seberg in the movie) and have been haunted by Seberg as Lilith and by Salamanca's writing ever since. I identified so much with Vincent - his ecstasy and heartache -- that I felt betrayed by the almost criminal decisions he makes as his dream begins to unravel. Vincent never explicitly offers remorse for what happens and I think this is what left me feeling unsatisfied by the ending. You care for him so much and you know he is forever shattered, but when I first finished it I almost felt like writing to Salamanca and saying: "Can you please rewrite the ending? I do not want to feel this way at the end of such a marvelous book." Basically, I did not buy any intended allegory. You can write a book with irony and paradox, but if you finesse the morality your message loses its punch.
So, if there had been an Internet then, I would have contributed to "fan fiction" by writing what I felt would be a more satisfying ending. I would not necessarily make it a happy ending, but it would at least be a more "moral" ending - where you do not feel betrayed by the protagonist as intensely as you do by Salamanca's Vincent. Vincent is so powerfully in love with Lilith that his reactions do makes sense - except for the fact that he is essentially standing on a powderkeg. And at the end he just slinks away and mourns in his own rather meek and inadequate way.
I greatly enjoyed the portrayal of Vincent's love obsession and even the crisis brought on by Lilith's unique personality. I understand why Chestnut Lodge was not happy with the book and I especially understand how Joanne Greenberg must have been upset with Mr. Salamanca (she later wrote "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and Salamanca admits that Chestnut Lodge and his own early, original interaction with Ms. Greenberg were the jumping-off points for his book). I think Salamanca would have written it differently had he waited and reflected on it more. But, in that case, we would not have gotten Jean Seberg and her unforgettable portrayal of Lilith Arthur. So I am very grateful after all, although not entirely at peace -- any allegory notwithstanding.
The story is told in the first person, so we identify profoundly with Vincent as a young man struggling to find his way. The story is told so personally, so sensitively - and in prose that is so exquisite - that you become deeply attached to Vincent. The rural Maryland countryside is described beautifully in Salamanca's prose, and Vincent's magical relationship with the beguiling, blonde, and beautiful Lilith Arthur is rendered as powerfully as anything in American literature.
The inevitable denouement of Vincent's love affair is told with all the passion and heartbreak imaginable. Salamanca even uses Vincent's journal entries to add even more immediacy and believability to this lyrical tale.
I first read this as an 18-year-old freshman in college in 1976 (having just seen the luminous Ms. Seberg in the movie) and have been haunted by Seberg as Lilith and by Salamanca's writing ever since. I identified so much with Vincent - his ecstasy and heartache -- that I felt betrayed by the almost criminal decisions he makes as his dream begins to unravel. Vincent never explicitly offers remorse for what happens and I think this is what left me feeling unsatisfied by the ending. You care for him so much and you know he is forever shattered, but when I first finished it I almost felt like writing to Salamanca and saying: "Can you please rewrite the ending? I do not want to feel this way at the end of such a marvelous book." Basically, I did not buy any intended allegory. You can write a book with irony and paradox, but if you finesse the morality your message loses its punch.
So, if there had been an Internet then, I would have contributed to "fan fiction" by writing what I felt would be a more satisfying ending. I would not necessarily make it a happy ending, but it would at least be a more "moral" ending - where you do not feel betrayed by the protagonist as intensely as you do by Salamanca's Vincent. Vincent is so powerfully in love with Lilith that his reactions do makes sense - except for the fact that he is essentially standing on a powderkeg. And at the end he just slinks away and mourns in his own rather meek and inadequate way.
I greatly enjoyed the portrayal of Vincent's love obsession and even the crisis brought on by Lilith's unique personality. I understand why Chestnut Lodge was not happy with the book and I especially understand how Joanne Greenberg must have been upset with Mr. Salamanca (she later wrote "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" and Salamanca admits that Chestnut Lodge and his own early, original interaction with Ms. Greenberg were the jumping-off points for his book). I think Salamanca would have written it differently had he waited and reflected on it more. But, in that case, we would not have gotten Jean Seberg and her unforgettable portrayal of Lilith Arthur. So I am very grateful after all, although not entirely at peace -- any allegory notwithstanding.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 12, 2025
Maybe this book means more to me because the Lilith character reminds me of more than one woman I've known (and had doomed affairs with) in my life. Trying to be somewhat objective, I think it's a very well-written and well-characterized novel. It actually spurred me on to read other Salamanca work which I'll deal with when time permits.
Lilith Arthur has been consigned to an elegant residential large house for folks with serious mental/emotional problems who are non-violent, and yet unable to integrate with society...or in some cases whose families simply find their lifestyle or philosophy unacceptable. Young war veteran Vincent (played by Warren Beatty in the film) comes to work as an orderly in the facility and gradually falls under Lilith's spell. She is not restrained confined physically; her spirit is not compatible with conventional American mid-20th century morality. She lives largely in a fantasy world, which is real to her (and maybe has a reality outside of her, that's left for the reader to reflect on.) The problem is that Lilith enjoys manipulating people for entertainment, and unfortunately both the other residents of the house and the staff indulge her. Her games do not result in happiness in the end.
The story is much better known through its excellent film adaptation. I know this is not supposed to be a movie review, but I can't help but share some comments about it.
1. Jean Seberg is fantastic as Lilith, and was deservedly nominated for a "Best Actress" Golden Globe.
2. Warren Beatty on the other hand is way out of his depth as her confidant and an orderly in the home for the disturbed in which she lives. I agree with the review of the movie in a 1964 Village Voice: "Beatty is all James Dean mannerisms and Gregory Peck neighborhood Playhuose [sic] thoughtful delays before each line. Beatty is now almost worse than Lawrence Harvey and Yul Brynner put together." Problem with direction, chemistry with Seberg? His debut a few years in Splendor in the Grass was greatly praised.
3. The film cast includes four Oscar winners: Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Kim Hunter and Olympia Dukakis; and two Oscar nominees: Peter Fonda and Kim Stanley. (I also agree with the sentiment of the Village Voice reviewer on Fonda in this film "Peter Fonda should take acting lessons from his father, but quick.")
I think I can't be completely objective about the literary merit of this novel due to experiences in my life with women with greater or less attachment to consensus reality.
In any case, to try to be as impartial as possible, this is a very fine novel in all respects of characterization and story. The character of the narrator is perhaps a bit colorless compared to Lilith and the other residents and workers in the asylum, but that's a minor nit. The dramatic arc builds very steadily to a strong climax.
The story doesn't rely on any occult elements but almost completely on psychological suspense. You could easily see Stephen King writing a similar story.
Finally, I've griped about dust jackets and production woes before, but I'm sorry, I have to do it again. The cover art shown of almost all the various editions, including this one, are a terrible disappointment compared to the author's elegant and skillful writing and characterization. It makes Lilith appear to be some kind of cheap and tawdry blonde with no mystery or depth.
Lilith Arthur has been consigned to an elegant residential large house for folks with serious mental/emotional problems who are non-violent, and yet unable to integrate with society...or in some cases whose families simply find their lifestyle or philosophy unacceptable. Young war veteran Vincent (played by Warren Beatty in the film) comes to work as an orderly in the facility and gradually falls under Lilith's spell. She is not restrained confined physically; her spirit is not compatible with conventional American mid-20th century morality. She lives largely in a fantasy world, which is real to her (and maybe has a reality outside of her, that's left for the reader to reflect on.) The problem is that Lilith enjoys manipulating people for entertainment, and unfortunately both the other residents of the house and the staff indulge her. Her games do not result in happiness in the end.
The story is much better known through its excellent film adaptation. I know this is not supposed to be a movie review, but I can't help but share some comments about it.
1. Jean Seberg is fantastic as Lilith, and was deservedly nominated for a "Best Actress" Golden Globe.
2. Warren Beatty on the other hand is way out of his depth as her confidant and an orderly in the home for the disturbed in which she lives. I agree with the review of the movie in a 1964 Village Voice: "Beatty is all James Dean mannerisms and Gregory Peck neighborhood Playhuose [sic] thoughtful delays before each line. Beatty is now almost worse than Lawrence Harvey and Yul Brynner put together." Problem with direction, chemistry with Seberg? His debut a few years in Splendor in the Grass was greatly praised.
3. The film cast includes four Oscar winners: Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Kim Hunter and Olympia Dukakis; and two Oscar nominees: Peter Fonda and Kim Stanley. (I also agree with the sentiment of the Village Voice reviewer on Fonda in this film "Peter Fonda should take acting lessons from his father, but quick.")
I think I can't be completely objective about the literary merit of this novel due to experiences in my life with women with greater or less attachment to consensus reality.
In any case, to try to be as impartial as possible, this is a very fine novel in all respects of characterization and story. The character of the narrator is perhaps a bit colorless compared to Lilith and the other residents and workers in the asylum, but that's a minor nit. The dramatic arc builds very steadily to a strong climax.
The story doesn't rely on any occult elements but almost completely on psychological suspense. You could easily see Stephen King writing a similar story.
Finally, I've griped about dust jackets and production woes before, but I'm sorry, I have to do it again. The cover art shown of almost all the various editions, including this one, are a terrible disappointment compared to the author's elegant and skillful writing and characterization. It makes Lilith appear to be some kind of cheap and tawdry blonde with no mystery or depth.
October 20, 2017
I went back and forth on this book for a few reasons. One, the luxurious prose is often a delight though occasionally it slips a toe or two past the line of poetic into overwrought. Two, things are very explicit until the moment they're not, and the "not" part is kinda what the climax hinges on. Salamanca doesn't seem to be able to quite commit to telling us the full extent of what Lilith is doing in one scene, but for modern readers it's no big shock. Three, there are these weird little racial tics that just happen and never amount to anything. Near the opening there's a scene where the narrator looks up at a Confederate soldier statue and thinks admiring thoughts. The book was written in 1961, so that's not too weird. Then he later mentions, completely without any reason it seems, crossing the street when he sees a black woman in a red dress walking on the same sidewalk as him. Then later an ex-girlfriend's husband tells about a meeting he's going to of the town's white citizens to get a plot of land rezoned as residential before the local black community can purchase it to turn into a recreation center for black families.
But zero of the book has to do with race relations. Race is about .05% of the book's content, but the author drops in four little things like this and then -- nothing. They don't go anywhere, they don't add up to anything, they don't even add contemporary flavor. In every instance they just sort of sit there on the page, irrelevant in the greater context. So they unsettle a bit and not deliberately, as far as I can tell, becuase, again, the whole novel is about a guy falling in love with a woman in an insane asylum and no one talks about race at all in any other context.
In that sense, they're almost gratuitous, and in a novel with such carefully written prose, they're not accidental, but they are pointless. Imagine going to see a movie with someone and it's a decent movie, and you're enjoying the movie, but every so often the person next to you, in the absence of anything in the movie or theater, just occasionally murmurs some racial slur. It'd distract from the movie. Now imagine the movie's writer did that. It'd be weird and it'd put you off.
Reading this novel, I thought I might check out some of the author's other books, but that little tic that just kept popping up now makes it less likely that I will, which seems weird.
But zero of the book has to do with race relations. Race is about .05% of the book's content, but the author drops in four little things like this and then -- nothing. They don't go anywhere, they don't add up to anything, they don't even add contemporary flavor. In every instance they just sort of sit there on the page, irrelevant in the greater context. So they unsettle a bit and not deliberately, as far as I can tell, becuase, again, the whole novel is about a guy falling in love with a woman in an insane asylum and no one talks about race at all in any other context.
In that sense, they're almost gratuitous, and in a novel with such carefully written prose, they're not accidental, but they are pointless. Imagine going to see a movie with someone and it's a decent movie, and you're enjoying the movie, but every so often the person next to you, in the absence of anything in the movie or theater, just occasionally murmurs some racial slur. It'd distract from the movie. Now imagine the movie's writer did that. It'd be weird and it'd put you off.
Reading this novel, I thought I might check out some of the author's other books, but that little tic that just kept popping up now makes it less likely that I will, which seems weird.
April 19, 2025
I feel like I lived in this book particularly intensely over the time that I was reading it, and it still hasn’t left me. We had it on our shelves for a long time and I loved the mysterious and gothic cover with the girl holding a blue banner as well as the name of the book, but I didn’t realize what it was about until I got on a bit of a binge recently of reading midcentury books with an element of schizophrenia in them.
I was also wanting to read a midcentury book about a small American town with a lot of everyday small town trappings of the time period but which revealed a darker side beneath the exterior (think David Lynch, as I’ve been living in the shadow of his passing this year). I feel that I inhabited this town for a while when I was reading it; it was rendered in such detail and so vividly. But Lilith herself was captivating to me as well.
She lives in an incredibly detailed creative world of her own making, with her own language, her own pantheon of gods and music and art that she creates for it. Hardly “insane” behavior, but I identified with it completely since these are basically all things that I also did growing up. I’m never sold on the idea that she is mad or cruel or manipulative, because I empathize so much with her creativity. In fact, the dust flap description of the book shocked me when I read it after the fact because it described this poor innocent protagonist who is manipulated and seduced by the wily madwoman and it’s quite the opposite to me. To me he seems like the jerk, stepping in to try to take possession of her and messing up her amazing creative life. Nonetheless, I was fully steeped in this world while I read it and it didn’t leave me for some time. I know there is a film based on it, so I’ll be seeking that out as well. If I had read this when I was a teen or young adult I probably would have taken it as a good sign to immerse myself entirely in my imaginary worlds and stay away from people (which isn’t a bad idea at all).
I was also wanting to read a midcentury book about a small American town with a lot of everyday small town trappings of the time period but which revealed a darker side beneath the exterior (think David Lynch, as I’ve been living in the shadow of his passing this year). I feel that I inhabited this town for a while when I was reading it; it was rendered in such detail and so vividly. But Lilith herself was captivating to me as well.
She lives in an incredibly detailed creative world of her own making, with her own language, her own pantheon of gods and music and art that she creates for it. Hardly “insane” behavior, but I identified with it completely since these are basically all things that I also did growing up. I’m never sold on the idea that she is mad or cruel or manipulative, because I empathize so much with her creativity. In fact, the dust flap description of the book shocked me when I read it after the fact because it described this poor innocent protagonist who is manipulated and seduced by the wily madwoman and it’s quite the opposite to me. To me he seems like the jerk, stepping in to try to take possession of her and messing up her amazing creative life. Nonetheless, I was fully steeped in this world while I read it and it didn’t leave me for some time. I know there is a film based on it, so I’ll be seeking that out as well. If I had read this when I was a teen or young adult I probably would have taken it as a good sign to immerse myself entirely in my imaginary worlds and stay away from people (which isn’t a bad idea at all).
July 18, 2025
Vincent Bruce gets a job at the local asylum. He falls madly in love with Lilith, a schizophrenic patient. She is beautiful, an artist, plays the flute, and has invented her own language. Their romance begins quite passionately but quickly takes a sinister turn.
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October 31, 2016Lilith - J.R. Salamanca
It was quite a few years back that i read this, but it really grabbed me, and still haunts me. The writing as i remember was good not great, but the story really grabbed me and i still remember it.
I've been looking around -- there seems to be a real lack of detail on the author. There are three other books, which i am inclined towards reading. Almost nothing else biographical i can find on the author, not even at Wikipedia.
[Later: Perhaps J.R. Salamanca is a pen-name ... i can't believe this author hasn't written more. There's something more to know here.]
It was quite a few years back that i read this, but it really grabbed me, and still haunts me. The writing as i remember was good not great, but the story really grabbed me and i still remember it.
I've been looking around -- there seems to be a real lack of detail on the author. There are three other books, which i am inclined towards reading. Almost nothing else biographical i can find on the author, not even at Wikipedia.
[Later: Perhaps J.R. Salamanca is a pen-name ... i can't believe this author hasn't written more. There's something more to know here.]
June 21, 2023
I'll preface this review by saying that around 1982, JR Salamanca was my creative writing professor at the University of Maryland. I wish I had more memories from his class, but I do recall holding him in the highest esteem. I also remember him telling stories about going to Ireland and having drinks with people that knew James Joyce. I was aware of "Lilith" at the time (mostly because of Warren Beatty), but the novel was out of print and hard to find.
I sure wish that I had read the book back then. I would have had so much to talk about with my professor and I feel like I missed a golden opportunity.
"Lilith" is a haunting novel about two very lost people. Vince, the narrator and main character, is a World War Two veteran living a sad life that doesn't offer much to him. He is formed by his past, which includes an estrangement from his family and a traumatic war experience that cost him his best friend. When he returns to Maryland after the war, not only has his ex-girlfriend gotten married, but he finds that job opportunities are slim. With so few options, he takes on the equivalence of an apprenticeship with the town's insane asylum.
While there, Vince meets and later falls in love with the beautiful, schizophrenic Lilith. As one would expect, the illicit relationship creates tension throughout the second half of the novel. It's hard to read "Lilith" and feel any degree of optimism. The beauty of the book is that it is told from Vince's perspective and he is, generally, an optimistic person. If he detects how 'far gone' Lilith is, he is still pulled into her illusions. But the reader knows that there is no reason to feel optimism; Vince is playing with a loaded gun. When Lilith's decline contributes to Vince's questionable mental state, the book is profoundly sad.
Salamanca's writing is beautiful and gripping. It's truly what separates "Lilith" from what could be an exploitive portrayal of the same story. He pulls us deeply into narrator Vince's head, but also portrays the numerous patients in a delicate, caring way. I can't praise this book enough.
I sure wish that I had read the book back then. I would have had so much to talk about with my professor and I feel like I missed a golden opportunity.
"Lilith" is a haunting novel about two very lost people. Vince, the narrator and main character, is a World War Two veteran living a sad life that doesn't offer much to him. He is formed by his past, which includes an estrangement from his family and a traumatic war experience that cost him his best friend. When he returns to Maryland after the war, not only has his ex-girlfriend gotten married, but he finds that job opportunities are slim. With so few options, he takes on the equivalence of an apprenticeship with the town's insane asylum.
While there, Vince meets and later falls in love with the beautiful, schizophrenic Lilith. As one would expect, the illicit relationship creates tension throughout the second half of the novel. It's hard to read "Lilith" and feel any degree of optimism. The beauty of the book is that it is told from Vince's perspective and he is, generally, an optimistic person. If he detects how 'far gone' Lilith is, he is still pulled into her illusions. But the reader knows that there is no reason to feel optimism; Vince is playing with a loaded gun. When Lilith's decline contributes to Vince's questionable mental state, the book is profoundly sad.
Salamanca's writing is beautiful and gripping. It's truly what separates "Lilith" from what could be an exploitive portrayal of the same story. He pulls us deeply into narrator Vince's head, but also portrays the numerous patients in a delicate, caring way. I can't praise this book enough.
March 27, 2020
My Thoughts on Lilith by J.R. Salamanca (Completely Spoiler Free)
Trying to drown out the sound of all distractions, dogs barking, Pomodoro timer going, I will write to you my thoughts on Lilith by J.R Salamanca. I will write without revealing plot twists and turns, I will give you the basics, in and out, and will try and not give any spoilers. Because I hate spoilers.
Lilith was written in 1961 and was made into a feature film starring Warren Beatty. The writing is poetic, and vivid. Salamanca paints a picture with only his words, describing beauty and ugliness all so well. With only giving few details in the way of this book, this books setting is a small town bordering Maryland, set a little after the end of World War II. The main character is intriguing and flawed, the character that the book is named after is spriteful, young, and lives at Poplar Hill.
The book is a well written story of love, war, obsession and trauma. It speaks well of the flights of one’s mind when left to its own reality. It does well in its cardinal lessons, and reveals an intriguing plot with many well-defined characters. As I stated earlier before, the scene is clearly painted from the first page, and the writer sets an early tone that fits well with the overall feeling of this book.
I will say that the book takes on dare I say fringe issues and gives an uninformed reader a historical view of what one would call madness. It also is clearly a sign of the time it was written, and that being said branches racism, and inequality, as well as those with altered states quite well.
The story is a lovely one. The writing is not playful, almost brutal. Salamanca does not dance in this hallmark novel. It is not light by any means. Yet, it remains entertaining. It is brutal, it is beautiful, it depicts its subjects well. It is a timeless theme, and a discretionary tale. One that should be widely read, and understood. Almost required reading for some who would like to pursue the profession of understanding the mind.
Trying to drown out the sound of all distractions, dogs barking, Pomodoro timer going, I will write to you my thoughts on Lilith by J.R Salamanca. I will write without revealing plot twists and turns, I will give you the basics, in and out, and will try and not give any spoilers. Because I hate spoilers.
Lilith was written in 1961 and was made into a feature film starring Warren Beatty. The writing is poetic, and vivid. Salamanca paints a picture with only his words, describing beauty and ugliness all so well. With only giving few details in the way of this book, this books setting is a small town bordering Maryland, set a little after the end of World War II. The main character is intriguing and flawed, the character that the book is named after is spriteful, young, and lives at Poplar Hill.
The book is a well written story of love, war, obsession and trauma. It speaks well of the flights of one’s mind when left to its own reality. It does well in its cardinal lessons, and reveals an intriguing plot with many well-defined characters. As I stated earlier before, the scene is clearly painted from the first page, and the writer sets an early tone that fits well with the overall feeling of this book.
I will say that the book takes on dare I say fringe issues and gives an uninformed reader a historical view of what one would call madness. It also is clearly a sign of the time it was written, and that being said branches racism, and inequality, as well as those with altered states quite well.
The story is a lovely one. The writing is not playful, almost brutal. Salamanca does not dance in this hallmark novel. It is not light by any means. Yet, it remains entertaining. It is brutal, it is beautiful, it depicts its subjects well. It is a timeless theme, and a discretionary tale. One that should be widely read, and understood. Almost required reading for some who would like to pursue the profession of understanding the mind.
Currently reading
March 26, 2015When I can get my blog up and running, people who are interested will be able to read my story of how I discovered my father's stash of dirty books. This was one of them. I can't find the cover from that particular edition listed, and I don't have it available, so I used the cover of the edition that I recently purchased. But that cover was a black cover, with the picture of a woman's picture who was obviously nude, but the lettering covered the stuff that I wanted to see. (How RUDE!) I flipped through, looking for interesting stuff, but didn't find anything. So I put this one aside.
The name Lilith fascinated me; the way it tripped over the tongue. But when I looked it up in our baby names book, it wasn't there (apparently it was not deemed to be a name you want to call a child. Looking the name up in an encyclopedia led to even more confusion. It said she was a succubus (whatever THAT was) and Adam's first wife (!!!!????). So I dutifully looked up succubus which turned out to be "a demon who visits men in the night (See Lilith)." To the best of my knowledge, this was the first instance I had of doing research and learning even less than I started with. I made the mistake of asking the school librarian if she knew where I might find information and she freaked out on me, telling me that I was better off following my studies instead of having my mind on "dirty" things. And this conversation was probably 7 - 10 years after this book had been published. Later I discovered that Warren Beatty had starred in the filmed version as Vincent, which aroused my curiosity further.
So the name Lilith languished in my mind for nearly 50 years, along with the word succubus, either occasionally coming to the forefront when I encountered them in reading, and slowly, I began to get a better picture of what all the subterfuge was hiding.
About 6 months ago, I decided to write a horror novel based on a motion picture that I had seen, but been dissatisfied with. The movie never even attempted to explain why the villain was doing this, or what he expected to gain from it. So I decided to add a succubus that he was trying to please who was also the source of his power. So what should I name her? Hmmmmm.... Lilith was supposed to be the first succubus, so let's go for it. So I formed a legend from the few bits and pieces that I was able to discover. A bit further research, and I discovered that several other writers had put the same pieces together in similar stories. Which led me back to this book.
Lilith is the story of Lilith Arthur who might or might not have been placed in an institution because she bucked the system (which would make her identify with the original Lilith as the legend goes that Lilith disdained the missionary position and left Adam to become a prostitute, later a succubus). I have read quite a fair amount of literature where an individual from a rich family is institutionalized because they are an embarrassment to their families. In sixth and seventh grade I had a friend whose mother had been institutionalized for many years and was sent home lobotomized. Reading between the lines, I suspect that she was an abused woman who was "sent away" by her husband because she tried to escape the marriage along with her two boys, but that is my second novel.) Given her name, Lilith Arthur identifies with the original Lilith and goes against the mores of her time.
The book was actually published in 1961, when I was first entering elementary school, and it was a very different publishing world from the publishing world of today. Mothers were considered to be a failure if they didn't fit the June Cleaver or Donna Reed mold. (I knew my family was a failure because neither parent was even CLOSE to the Cleaver mold.) The sexual revolution was still years off and would be 15 - 20 years before frank, honest sexual scenes were written in books that sold well. While I am aware that there had been attempts by such noted authors as Lawrence, Proust, and Joyce, these were still (and still are) outside of the common cannon.
At this writing, I am about 60 pages into the book and it is beautifully written. In the current publishing world this book would not be printed. Up until now, everything has been showing who the character is, and subtly cycling around to the asylum. I feel compelled to post the first paragraph from this book as I think it is one of the best ones I have read in a long time:
I grew up in a small Southern town which was different from most other towns because it contained an insane asylum. At the time I was growing up there, however, I did not think of this as a distinction. As we were aware of it from birth, it had for us who lived there no aspect of novelty; it was simply one of the facts of our existence, and belonged with the fire station, the clinic, the schoolhouse and the granary, among those elemental institutions by which life is both sustained and interpreted. I thought all towns had asylums. With the equanimity of a child I accepted the fact that there was madness everywhere, just as there were conflagration, illness, ignorance and hunger. I can, indeed, remember being disconcerted, somewhere around the age of twelve by the discovery that other towns did not have asylums and engaging in much troubled speculation as to how the insane people of these communities were disposed of.
The telling word here is "disposed". It obviously is meant to mean placed in it's particular proper place, but the more popular meaning of "discarded" is a subtext. In addition, Vincent points out 5 issues that need to be dealt with and only his town cares for all five, leaving him wondering how other towns deal with insanity. But the fact that he leaves out spiritual longing and the church is more revealing in what he does not include in his list of issues that society needs to deal with. This book needs to be read carefully as there are many words that I believe were carefully selected with multiple meanings.
Later, Vincent becomes an attendant at that asylum. He is obviously highly sexually and emotionally repressed himself. While the story isn't told, Vincent's father abandoned his young family and they are cared for by Vincent's grand parents. From an incident early on, it is obvious that female sexuality and madness were equated in that time. So one wonders if he is drawn to the asylum with the intention of exploring his own issues.
More as I get deeper into it.
The name Lilith fascinated me; the way it tripped over the tongue. But when I looked it up in our baby names book, it wasn't there (apparently it was not deemed to be a name you want to call a child. Looking the name up in an encyclopedia led to even more confusion. It said she was a succubus (whatever THAT was) and Adam's first wife (!!!!????). So I dutifully looked up succubus which turned out to be "a demon who visits men in the night (See Lilith)." To the best of my knowledge, this was the first instance I had of doing research and learning even less than I started with. I made the mistake of asking the school librarian if she knew where I might find information and she freaked out on me, telling me that I was better off following my studies instead of having my mind on "dirty" things. And this conversation was probably 7 - 10 years after this book had been published. Later I discovered that Warren Beatty had starred in the filmed version as Vincent, which aroused my curiosity further.
So the name Lilith languished in my mind for nearly 50 years, along with the word succubus, either occasionally coming to the forefront when I encountered them in reading, and slowly, I began to get a better picture of what all the subterfuge was hiding.
About 6 months ago, I decided to write a horror novel based on a motion picture that I had seen, but been dissatisfied with. The movie never even attempted to explain why the villain was doing this, or what he expected to gain from it. So I decided to add a succubus that he was trying to please who was also the source of his power. So what should I name her? Hmmmmm.... Lilith was supposed to be the first succubus, so let's go for it. So I formed a legend from the few bits and pieces that I was able to discover. A bit further research, and I discovered that several other writers had put the same pieces together in similar stories. Which led me back to this book.
Lilith is the story of Lilith Arthur who might or might not have been placed in an institution because she bucked the system (which would make her identify with the original Lilith as the legend goes that Lilith disdained the missionary position and left Adam to become a prostitute, later a succubus). I have read quite a fair amount of literature where an individual from a rich family is institutionalized because they are an embarrassment to their families. In sixth and seventh grade I had a friend whose mother had been institutionalized for many years and was sent home lobotomized. Reading between the lines, I suspect that she was an abused woman who was "sent away" by her husband because she tried to escape the marriage along with her two boys, but that is my second novel.) Given her name, Lilith Arthur identifies with the original Lilith and goes against the mores of her time.
The book was actually published in 1961, when I was first entering elementary school, and it was a very different publishing world from the publishing world of today. Mothers were considered to be a failure if they didn't fit the June Cleaver or Donna Reed mold. (I knew my family was a failure because neither parent was even CLOSE to the Cleaver mold.) The sexual revolution was still years off and would be 15 - 20 years before frank, honest sexual scenes were written in books that sold well. While I am aware that there had been attempts by such noted authors as Lawrence, Proust, and Joyce, these were still (and still are) outside of the common cannon.
At this writing, I am about 60 pages into the book and it is beautifully written. In the current publishing world this book would not be printed. Up until now, everything has been showing who the character is, and subtly cycling around to the asylum. I feel compelled to post the first paragraph from this book as I think it is one of the best ones I have read in a long time:
I grew up in a small Southern town which was different from most other towns because it contained an insane asylum. At the time I was growing up there, however, I did not think of this as a distinction. As we were aware of it from birth, it had for us who lived there no aspect of novelty; it was simply one of the facts of our existence, and belonged with the fire station, the clinic, the schoolhouse and the granary, among those elemental institutions by which life is both sustained and interpreted. I thought all towns had asylums. With the equanimity of a child I accepted the fact that there was madness everywhere, just as there were conflagration, illness, ignorance and hunger. I can, indeed, remember being disconcerted, somewhere around the age of twelve by the discovery that other towns did not have asylums and engaging in much troubled speculation as to how the insane people of these communities were disposed of.
The telling word here is "disposed". It obviously is meant to mean placed in it's particular proper place, but the more popular meaning of "discarded" is a subtext. In addition, Vincent points out 5 issues that need to be dealt with and only his town cares for all five, leaving him wondering how other towns deal with insanity. But the fact that he leaves out spiritual longing and the church is more revealing in what he does not include in his list of issues that society needs to deal with. This book needs to be read carefully as there are many words that I believe were carefully selected with multiple meanings.
Later, Vincent becomes an attendant at that asylum. He is obviously highly sexually and emotionally repressed himself. While the story isn't told, Vincent's father abandoned his young family and they are cared for by Vincent's grand parents. From an incident early on, it is obvious that female sexuality and madness were equated in that time. So one wonders if he is drawn to the asylum with the intention of exploring his own issues.
More as I get deeper into it.
August 13, 2022
Very Different from the Film
I saw the film before I read the book. What made the book better was that it cleared up with areas that were vague. It was easier to understand the story knowing more of the background of the characters.
The narrator does tell the story from the perspective that he was seduced into his actions and presents it as if he were the victim. Yet he really has control. He actively looks for ways to deceive his superiors and take advantage of Lilith’s mental state and delusions for his benefit.
I saw the film before I read the book. What made the book better was that it cleared up with areas that were vague. It was easier to understand the story knowing more of the background of the characters.
The narrator does tell the story from the perspective that he was seduced into his actions and presents it as if he were the victim. Yet he really has control. He actively looks for ways to deceive his superiors and take advantage of Lilith’s mental state and delusions for his benefit.
June 10, 2023
What a capacious, mad, rich explosion of a novel this is. It manages to be both old-fashioned and wholly original. It may remind you of that other book about an insane asylum--and it's just as good. Highly recommended...if you can find a copy.
December 23, 2018
I would have given it five stars but for the way it concluded. The ending felt forced and overly emotional (like a badly-scripted tragic romance).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2019
Interesting read
December 22, 2023
I’m still digesting this one so maybe the rating will change, but either way this is a fascinating book. The writing is beautiful, almost too beautiful given the age and circumstances of the character (written in 1st person), which only adds to the mystery of it. As others have said, it’s a slow build to a very quick climax, but story-wise it feels very true to life and worth the climb. You know something bad will happen, but not when or how. I’ll be thinking about it.
February 8, 2008
My blue cloth bound copy of this lived for many long years on the shelf in the Big Bear City cabin and while I believe I kept it, I'm not sure which box it might be in to ascertain that to be a fact. I certainly hope so -- it is a haunting book and I would like to keep it at hand for someone to pick up at random and have the experience which I had when I first read it.
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