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Gustav Meyrink- "The Golem"

 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
11:13 / 13.10.02
I'm halfway through reading a translation of this (I think) 1915 classic, and it FUCKING ROCKS! It's like Thomas Ligotti- imagery, dreamlike qualities, narrative style... I know it's something I SHOULD have read years ago, it being one o' they legendary classic horror stories an' all, but I never got round to it. Now I have...

...I think Patrick McGrath may be a big fan of this as well.

Has anyone else read this? If you have, don't tell me the ending. Please. Just let me know if you think it was any good. Or if any of his other stuff is worth checking out.

Loving it.
 
 
Kit-Cat Club
11:22 / 13.10.02
Oh yes. It is very good, isn't it? Reminded me a little of Steppenwolf, too. And, you know, Prague... I love Prague.

I read The Green Face, which I didn't think was quite as good, but still has some memorable parts - Jewish mystical aspects, the dangerous toyshop thing, the hero being driven along some path he doesn't really quite get...

There's some stuff about the Prague Golem in Kavalier and Clay as well, if you haven't read that yet...
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
13:52 / 13.10.02
Mmm. It's better than Walpurgisnacht and not quite as good as The Angel Of The West Window but I really do enjoy The Golem.

In fact. I may just have to go read it. I'm at a bit of a loose end now... will get back to you about it...
 
 
Magic Mutley
15:33 / 13.10.02
The Golem rocks! His other stuff is worth checking out too - I loved the White Dominican for faery tale weirdness.

The same publishers (Dedalus) have a good collection of short stories by contempories of Meyrink. It's called The Book of Austrian Fantasy - mostly surreal / macabre stuff.
 
 
The Natural Way
16:41 / 13.10.02
I've only read 'The Angel...', but, yes, can't think of anything else to say but: creamy occult weirdness.
 
 
illmatic
07:43 / 14.10.02
Thinking of diving into The Angel of the West Window very soon. I've just finished Ben Rowley's bio of Dr John Dee, and right know Elisabethian occult intrigues seem the best thing ever... even better by being set in central Europe.
Golems rock also - I love the idea of a big lump of clay animated by a tablet with the name of GOD on it.
Can anyone give good comments on Meyrink's work? Stuff to look out for when starting out with his books?
 
 
Sax
08:53 / 14.10.02
Elizabethan occult intrigues seem the best thing ever... even better by being set in central Europe.

God, I hope for all our sakes my novel gets published. Golem a-go-go!

Actually, it's not called that, but that's a damned good title for a book, isn't it?
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
11:23 / 14.10.02
Or a dance club.

Sorry. Rot stops.

Anyone interested in opening this up to a book club thread? What elements would you like to tease out in particular, Stoatie? Meyrink versus modern horror? Meyrink's interpretation/presentation of classic Jewish mythology? Or just how rockin' the whole thing is?
 
 
STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK
23:32 / 14.10.02
That could be kind of cool, Rothkoid- it seems to have just (where I'm up to now- I expect my reading speed to increase with the end of my working week) kicked in on more of the Jewish mythology thing.

I also like the idea of the untrustworthy narrator- hence my mentioning Patrick McGrath way back at the start of the thread.

Anyone else up for it?
 
 
illmatic
07:25 / 15.10.02
I'm up for it - haven't done group reading since I left college. Do we go for The Golem or Angel of the West Window? For me the interset would be the judaic mythology elements.
 
 
Abraxas
19:16 / 15.10.02
Just as an aside, H. P. Lovecraft highly praises Gustav Meyrink’s “Golem” in his essay “Supernatural Horror In Literature”. He also had read the translation of one of Meyrink’s short stories in Weird Tales.

There were some splendid illustrations for an early edition done by Hugo Steiner-Prag. I just hope these are featured in one of the translated editions as they really have an eerie atmosphere to them.

As for the “Angel Of the West Wing”, there seems to be some evidence that it wasn’t entirely written by Meyrink but instead in large parts (or even wholly) came from the pen of Meyrink’s good friend Alfred Schmid-Noerr. But that hopefully shouldn’t stop anyone from reading this rewarding novel.

I don’t know if these have been translated but if you come across Meyrink’s stories “Der Kardinal Napellus” and “Das Grillenspiel” from his collection “Fledermäuse” or his wonderful short story “Der Uhrmacher” I’d definitely recommend these as well.
 
 
Kit-Cat Club
19:23 / 15.10.02
Angel Of the West Wing

Crossmedia offering in which President John Dee saves the Western world by judicious use of his scrying glass...
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
22:39 / 15.10.02
...possibly while calling the angels "them folks".

And does that make Tony Blair Edward Kelley? Or would that be ole Don?

Sorry.
 
 
bjacques
22:31 / 16.10.02
So far I've read Angel of the West Window,
The Green Face and Walpurgisnacht. I thought
Angel was the most solid, but Walpurgisnacht
the most entertaining. The scenes with The Penguin,
a retired doctor and Lizzie the Czech, a former
courtesan, were very touching. What happens
to The Mirror, an old actor, is downright
chilling.

In all three stories, the emphasis is on
Rosicrucianism. Though I always cry at
chymical weddings, I wish there was more
actual sex in the books. I'll try to find
The Golem, since the famous movie was
made from it.

If you're in London, Foyle's has all of
Meyinck's books. They're hard to find
otherwise.
 
 
Sax
14:49 / 27.11.02
Just managed to track down a copy of The Golem in Borders in Leeds, and am about 60 pages in. It really is rather excellent stuff... love the dreamlike quality of the narrative and the evocative imagery of the Ghetto. It's a lot less... obvious than I thought it was going to be. Have you finished it yet, Stoatie?

And has anyone seen the movie version?
 
 
The Return Of Rothkoid
21:28 / 27.11.02
Who wants to kick up a proper reading or discussion of this? Say in about a fortnight? We can just use this thread...
 
 
Tezcatlipoca
09:21 / 28.11.02
Can I just clarify that I'm right in thinking we're talking about the golem of Rabbi Loew here? If so, then I may have to track this down.
Assuming it is the same golem, and as a side thread to that assumption, I hear Lowe's house was spared from being torn apart by the Nazis during their occupation of Prague on direct orders from a very superstitious Hitler. Apparently the attic - where golem is rumoured to reside in pieces - is still locked to this day, and the house has become a museum of Jewish mysticism.
Of course, I could have completely misunderstood the golem being discussed, in which case please ignore this post and move on in an orderly fashion.
 
 
Sax
11:48 / 28.11.02
It is the Golem of Rabbi Loew, but specifically "The Golem" by Gustav Meyrink. The latest translation is by Dedalus books, and has limited availability in the UK for about seven quid. Amazon have copies.
 
  
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