A Dive into Alan Moore’s “The Great When”
“Have you got a name, or should I just keep thinking of you as ‘the liability?’” The strikingly beautiful young woman named Grace poses this question to the protagonist of Alan Moore’s THE GREAT WHEN (Bloomsbury, 315 pp., $29.99). Our hero, unfortunately, carries the rather unfortunate name of Dennis Knuckleyard, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his problems. Dennis is a disenchanted teenager slaving away in a bookshop owned by a phlegmy old crone known as Coffin Ada. In a twist of fate, he has come into possession of a dangerously elusive book titled “A London Walk,” a tome that should not exist outside the eerie imagination of horror writer Arthur Machen. Yet, here it is, and Dennis must figure out how to dispose of it properly; otherwise, he risks being sucked into a magical realm called Long London, a shadowy parallel universe to the Shoreditch of 1949 where Dennis spends most of his days. To complicate matters, some inhabitants of Long London possess the unsettling ability — and perhaps the inclination — to turn Dennis inside out.
Moore’s The Great When dances on the edge of the uncanny while maintaining a delightful lightness throughout its pages. At his 40th birthday party in 1993, after what he later described as “more beers than I should have had,” Moore declared his intention to become a magician. Since then, his creative output has undergone a profound transformation. He remains the audacious writer who delivered the groundbreaking work “Watchmen” alongside artist Dave Gibbons, a piece that dealt a blow to American superhero comics from which they have yet to fully recover.
However, his ambitions have soared to new heights. His final comic project, and arguably his magnum opus, “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” with Kevin O’Neill, evolved into a sprawling parody that embraced … well, everything imaginable. His previous novel, “Jerusalem,” showcased a similarly monumental ambition, intertwining a historical exploration of Northampton — his lifelong hometown — with profound meditations on the afterlife, interspersed with literary homage, autobiography, and semiotics. In contrast, “The Great When” is a third of the length of “Jerusalem,” crafted with the pacing of an adventure tale, reminiscent of the storytelling prowess Moore displayed in his comic scripts. The narrative flows in an urbane voice, rich with clever jokes, unforgettable names, and striking turns of phrase.
This novel feels like a delightful inversion of the works of Waugh or Wodehouse; while retaining the witty narration, it shifts from a realistic portrayal of the upper classes seeking marriage to a fantastical adventure filled with monsters centered around a virginal, working-class protagonist plagued by self-doubt.
Interestingly, “The Great When” is one of two captivating new releases from Moore this October, both adorned in striking purple covers. The other title is a long-awaited, gold-encrusted grimoire entitled THE MOON AND SERPENT BUMPER BOOK OF MAGIC (Top Shelf, 350 pp., $49.99). This book serves as an instructional manual for those eager to delve into the magical realm depicted in “The Great When,” allowing readers to explore its mysteries on their own. Co-written with the late Steve Moore, who passed away in 2014 — six years after they announced the project — this tome features illustrations by Rick Veitch, Ben Wickey, John Coulthart, and Kevin O’Neill. Steve, though no relation to Alan, was his partner in the exploration of the occult and served as an editor for the intriguing publication “The Fortean Times,” which was named after Charles Fort, the turn-of-the-century journalist known for his writings on questionable phenomena, including spontaneous human combustion and ball lightning.
