The Golem

Rating:
Summary: A Universal Theme?
Review: Athanasius Pernath... EMETH/METH -- the sounds conjure up images of the Prague Ghettos that brought to life this mythical being. One can immediately see the similarity between Meyrink's Golem and Shelley's Frankenstein, the first question that comes to mind is: Is this a universal theme? It seems that everywhere one goes, there appears, in one form or another, a mythical being that is life from nonlife. Lore is full of occurrences of controlled beings as far as the remote Himalayas in the form of the Tibetan tulpas. One is really left with the rhetorical question: What is all this about? In this case, Meyrink pulls a Bram Stroker (as in Dracula) and brings a legendary/mythical creature to life via a literary articulation. I guess that leads to a second question: How much of Meyrink's Golem much like Stroker's Dracula is authentic?

Meyrink's brilliance is beyond question. He conjures up an image of Prague's Hradcany Castle and the Charles Bridge that are, according to Robert Irwin, not Kafka's Castle or Bridge. But along those same lines, this story is certainly more than conjuring up images of Prague or echoing legend. Much like Frankenstein, there is social commentary. The key to understanding Meyrink is to unravel his musings. Intertwined, again according to Irwin, are Meyrink's influences -- the Cabala, Freemasonry, and his involvement with the Theosophical Society. If indeed this is true, there is certainly much to be considered in his writing. My sense is that the book reflects the times, the considerations in central Europe of looking beyond the ordinary to a space that is beyond our mundane consciousness.

There is a ton of material to be used as seed for possible cross cultural and genre sharing. Ghost in the Shell (also available on Amazon.com) is Kazunori Ito's futuristic vision where the confluence of the body (the shell) and the ghost (the mind) meets cyborg technology that forms one expression of Manga into cinema. From the books introduction, there were several film renditions of The Golem, few of which survived. Think of the possibilities of fusing the two. In order to do so, one needs to read this, Mike Mitchell's translation of Gustav Meyrink's The Golem to get a sense of what is being put out on the table. As for me, walking the streets of Prague will never be the same again...

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: A Universal Theme?
Review: Athanasius Pernath... EMETH/METH -- the sounds conjure up images of the Prague Ghettos that brought to life this mythical being. One can immediately see the similarity between Meyrink's Golem and Shelley's Frankenstein, the first question that comes to mind is: Is this a universal theme? It seems that everywhere one goes, there appears, in one form or another, a mythical being that is life from nonlife. Lore is full of occurrences of controlled beings as far as the remote Himalayas in the form of the Tibetan tulpas. One is really left with the rhetorical question: What is all this about? In this case, Meyrink pulls a Bram Stroker (as in Dracula) and brings a legendary/mythical creature to life via a literary articulation. I guess that leads to a second question: How much of Meyrink's Golem much like Stroker's Dracula is authentic?

Meyrink's brilliance is beyond question. He conjures up an image of Prague's Hradcany Castle and the Charles Bridge that are, according to Robert Irwin, not Kafka's Castle or Bridge. But along those same lines, this story is certainly more than conjuring up images of Prague or echoing legend. Much like Frankenstein, there is social commentary. The key to understanding Meyrink is to unravel his musings. Intertwined, again according to Irwin, are Meyrink's influences -- the Cabala, Freemasonry, and his involvement with the Theosophical Society. If indeed this is true, there is certainly much to be considered in his writing. My sense is that the book reflects the times, the considerations in central Europe of looking beyond the ordinary to a space that is beyond our mundane consciousness.

There is a ton of material to be used as seed for possible cross cultural and genre sharing. Ghost in the Shell (also available on Amazon.com) is Kazunori Ito's futuristic vision where the confluence of the body (the shell) and the ghost (the mind) meets cyborg technology that forms one expression of Manga into cinema. From the books introduction, there were several film renditions of The Golem, few of which survived. Think of the possibilities of fusing the two. In order to do so, one needs to read this, Mike Mitchell's translation of Gustav Meyrink's The Golem to get a sense of what is being put out on the table. As for me, walking the streets of Prague will never be the same again...

Miguel Llora

Rating:
Summary: I recommend Mitchell's translation
Review: I spent last several days comparing Mitchell's and Pemberton's translation to the German original for a project I'm working on and I strongly recommend Mitchell's version. Pemberton's is quite inaccurate and contains many errors which dull the impact of Meyrink's prose. There is not enough space here for a detailed comparison but as an example just try to figure out the layout of Pernath's and Savioli's apartments (that iron door!) based on Pemberton's translation: "if one unlatched the iron door to the basement - quite easy from above - it was possible, through my room, to reach the staircase..." In fact the door is quite easy to unlatch not from above but from the other side (that is, inside Savioli's studio) and then it is possible to reach the staircase by walking a corridor along (or past) Pernath's room, not through it.

Rating:
Summary: I recommend Mitchell's translation
Review: I spent last several days comparing Mitchell's and Pemberton's translation to the German original for a project I'm working on and I strongly recommend Mitchell's version. Pemberton's is quite inaccurate and contains many errors which dull the impact of Meyrink's prose. There is not enough space here for a detailed comparison but as an example just try to figure out the layout of Pernath's and Savioli's apartments (that iron door!) based on Pemberton's translation: "if one unlatched the iron door to the basement - quite easy from above - it was possible, through my room, to reach the staircase..." In fact the door is quite easy to unlatch not from above but from the other side (that is, inside Savioli's studio) and then it is possible to reach the staircase by walking a corridor along (or past) Pernath's room, not through it.

Rating:
Summary: A journey into the unconsciouss
Review: The legend of the "Golem" had its origin in Jewish folklore and mysticism, and its reading ranges from a methaphysical interpretation to a child's tale. From the first perspective the Golem is seen as a mystical attempt to experience "imitato dei," God's power of creation and the transcendental nature of the ritual; on a more legendary perspective the Golem is seen as a man-like creature who was created by rabbi Loew from Prague, to protect the ghetto community from persecution and injustice. In Meyrink's novel, the Golem is used as a symbolic device, in an exploration of the problem of identity.

Considered a masterpiece of fantasy and expressionism, Meyrink's "The Golem" is an oneiric novel with a strong religious gothic tone, a mirror of Meyrink's intellectual pursuit and involvement in occultist movements. The main character and narrator, Athanasius Pernath drifts in a state of hypnagogia, his memory blocked from the past, desperately in search of his own identity -- "Who am I?" In his quest, the Golem will take Athanasius into an inner journey, in a shift from consciousness to unconsciousness. Meyrink also introduces the mystic and cabbalist concept of the "secret of intercalation" (Ibbur), a combination of God's determinative and guiding hand and of man's freedom of choice and responsibility.

It is a novel with a phantasmagorial plot and visionary settings, where characters are drifted by a reality outside their understanding. Some readers might find the journey altogether weird, abstract and surrealist. However, the magic of Meyrink resides exactly in an artistic vision which embodies infinite interpretations. His own words best illustrates his own perspective of life: "when men arise from their beds, they think they have shaken off sleep and they know not that they have fallen victim to their senses and are in the grip of a much deeper sleep than the one they have just left."

Rating:
Summary: A journey into the unconsciouss
Review: The legend of the "Golem" had its origin in Jewish folklore and mysticism, and its reading ranges from a methaphysical interpretation to a child's tale. From the first perspective the Golem is seen as a mystical attempt to experience "imitato dei," God's power of creation and the transcendental nature of the ritual; on a more legendary perspective the Golem is seen as a man-like creature who was created by rabbi Loew from Prague, to protect the ghetto community from persecution and injustice. In Meyrink's novel, the Golem is used as a symbolic device, in an exploration of the problem of identity.

Considered a masterpiece of fantasy and expressionism, Meyrink's "The Golem" is an oneiric novel with a strong religious gothic tone, a mirror of Meyrink's intellectual pursuit and involvement in occultist movements. The main character and narrator, Athanasius Pernath drifts in a state of hypnagogia, his memory blocked from the past, desperately in search of his own identity -- "Who am I?" In his quest, the Golem will take Athanasius into an inner journey, in a shift from consciousness to unconsciousness. Meyrink also introduces the mystic and cabbalist concept of the "secret of intercalation" (Ibbur), a combination of God's determinative and guiding hand and of man's freedom of choice and responsibility.

It is a novel with a phantasmagorial plot and visionary settings, where characters are drifted by a reality outside their understanding. Some readers might find the journey altogether weird, abstract and surrealist. However, the magic of Meyrink resides exactly in an artistic vision which embodies infinite interpretations. His own words best illustrates his own perspective of life: "when men arise from their beds, they think they have shaken off sleep and they know not that they have fallen victim to their senses and are in the grip of a much deeper sleep than the one they have just left."

Rating:
Summary: The world of a dream
Review: There's much to give away about this book, but it is hard to get the plot straight once you've finished. Although the prose itself is quite straightforward and not experimental, the first-person narration seems to jump from the conscious to the under- or sub-conscious. It tells the myth of the Golem, an artificial creature created in the XVI century by Rabbi Loew in the ghetto of Prague to protect the Jewish community from destruction and injustice, but the myth is told from a very original perspective. Athanasius Pernath is a jeweler and restorator with faint memories of his past, who lives in the ghetto and experiences a series of strange (very strange) adventures involving crime, romance, estranged relationships and contact with the Golem himself. The most wonderful thing about this book is the atmosphere, the dark, tense environment and the beautiful depictions of Prague and its different neighborhoods, especially the ghetto.

The characters are all strange and enticing, but the plot is superbe, difficult and mysterious. It is a fascinating book even if could not be considered strictly a literary masterpiece. It is gloomy, spooky and enigmatic, indeed very gothic, and lovers of literature with strange, mystical situations will enjoy it.