![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It's another novel that is NFE (not for everyone), but it's one I certainly recommend to anyone who is already of fan of Meyrink who may not have read this book yet. And also, as one might expect at this time in history, Meyrink tackles nationalism, demagoguery, and racism (although strangely, he does use a racial slur more than once to describe the Zulu so you've been warned).įrankly, The Green Face isn't quite as good as The Golem, but I'd certainly rate it much higher than his The Angel at the West Window. Meyrink's commentary on civilization is excellent here, as is his take on contemporary culture. Here, though, a new element creeps into the story, a dark ending that is clearly a reflection of the anxieties of the time - I mean, it is 1916 World War I is still going - and the end, which many readers have noted as "apocalyptic". In this novel, Kabbalah, Buddhism, mysticism, and other esoteric beliefs find their way onto the pages secret knowledge is given and the recurring idea is the way to transcendence of the physical self, and indeed of the physical world, while keeping one foot in both. Once again turning to legend as a basis for his book, this time Meyrink uses the story of the Wandering Jew, and as in The Golem, he also incorporates several different types of esoteric and occult elements within the text. It is certainly classic Meyrink, though, and anyone who's read his The Golem would have to agree that the two books were definitely the work of the same person. This is one trippy book, and that's putting it mildly. ![]()
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