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"On the Marble Cliffs (Auf den Marmorklippen) is a novella by Ernst J�nger published in 1939 describing the upheaval and ruin of a serene agricultural society. The peaceful and traditional people, located on the shores of a large bay, are surrounded by the rough pastoral folk in the surrounding hills, who feel increasing pressure from the unscrupulous and lowly followers of the dreaded head forester. The narrator and protagonist lives on the marble cliffs as a botanist with his brother Otho, his son Erio from a past relationship and Erio's grandmother Lampusa. The idyllic life is threatened by the erosion of values and traditions, losing its inner power. The head forester uses this opportunity to establish a new order based on dictatorial rule, large numbers of mindless followers and the use of violence, torture and murder"--… (more)
User reviews
“While evil flourished like mushroom spawn in rotten wood, we plunged deeper into the mystery of flowers, and their chalices seemed larger and more brilliant than before. But, above all, we continued our study of language, for in the word we recognized the gleaming magic blade before which tyrants pale. There is a trinity of word, liberty and spirit.”
I found this to be an interesting addition to the fantasy genre, with its separation of lands and factions done without relying on the cliches of knights or magic. When a car appears it is a jarring occurrence, as the rest of the world seems trapped in a nebulous period of the past that predates such technology.
I'm sure the book was rife with political and/or historical symbolism that I didn't catch, but the story (such as it is) stands even without it. It's not great by any means, but a curiosity to be sure. Not quite like any other book I've read, for better or worse.