3.5
On the Marble Cliffs
ByPublisher Description
Now in a new translation, a darkly radiant fable about a pair of brothers, formerly warriors, whose idyll is shattered by an encroaching fascistic force.
Set in a world of its own, Ernst Jünger’s On the Marble Cliffs is both a mesmerizing work of fantasy and an allegory of the advent of fascism. The narrator of the book and his brother, Otho, live in an ancient house carved out of the great marble cliffs that overlook the Marina, a great and beautiful lake that is surrounded by a peaceable land of ancient cities and temples and flourishing vineyards. To the north of the cliffs are the grasslands of the Campagna, occupied by herders. North of that, the great forest begins. There the brutal Head Forester rules, abetted by the warrior bands of the Mauretanians.
The brothers have seen all too much of war. Their youth was consumed in fighting. Now they have resolved to live quietly, studying botany, adding to their herbarium, consulting the books in their library, involving themselves in the timeless pursuit of knowledge. However, rumors of dark deeds begin to reach them in their sanctuary. Agents of the Head Forester are infiltrating the peaceful provinces he views with contempt, while peace itself, it seems, may only be a mask for heedlessness.
Tess Lewis’s new translation of Jünger’s sinister fable of 1939 brings out all of this legendary book’s dark luster.
Set in a world of its own, Ernst Jünger’s On the Marble Cliffs is both a mesmerizing work of fantasy and an allegory of the advent of fascism. The narrator of the book and his brother, Otho, live in an ancient house carved out of the great marble cliffs that overlook the Marina, a great and beautiful lake that is surrounded by a peaceable land of ancient cities and temples and flourishing vineyards. To the north of the cliffs are the grasslands of the Campagna, occupied by herders. North of that, the great forest begins. There the brutal Head Forester rules, abetted by the warrior bands of the Mauretanians.
The brothers have seen all too much of war. Their youth was consumed in fighting. Now they have resolved to live quietly, studying botany, adding to their herbarium, consulting the books in their library, involving themselves in the timeless pursuit of knowledge. However, rumors of dark deeds begin to reach them in their sanctuary. Agents of the Head Forester are infiltrating the peaceful provinces he views with contempt, while peace itself, it seems, may only be a mask for heedlessness.
Tess Lewis’s new translation of Jünger’s sinister fable of 1939 brings out all of this legendary book’s dark luster.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
Rate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
Curate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesStay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesOn the Marble Cliffs Reviews
3.5
Madison Giorgi
Created about 5 hours agoShare
Report
ky
Created 17 days agoShare
Report
Ryan Stephenson
Created 29 days agoShare
Report
Danica
Created 3 months agoShare
Report
Alec Piergiorgi
Created 4 months agoShare
Report
“Really something special, and Junger's voice was surprisingly poetic, though the introduction to this edition does give some indication of this feature of his prose. I wouldn't go so far as calling it lyrical, but there is certainly a rhythmic feature to some of his more descriptive paragraphs. These sections are filled with beautiful descriptions of the nature that the narrator has surrounded himself with, though throughout everything, there is a persistent sense of melancholy.
I'm unsure what to refer to this as other than fantastical realism; I am painfully ignorant of the history of Europe from the fall of the Roman Empire to about the 1700s. Presumably, the story could take place sometime within that stretch, but the narrator makes mention of cities, shotguns, and automobiles, which would not have been present at the time. This leads me to falling back on that earlier descriptor because this felt like a meshing of different time periods, wonderfully used to express the exact emotions that Junger wanted to convey.
I really have no word other than "beautiful" to describe this narrative, but the book is holds quite a few notable quotes and ideas within. I do think that Junger's reference towards the novel in the afterword does reflect my thoughts: "Although this assault from the realm of dreams reflects and captures the nightmarish political situation, it also transcends-in time and space-the scope of the actual and episodic." There certainly is a timeless situation described in this work-though perhaps unique to Western attitudes-that continues to be relevant no matter the era.”
About Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger (1895–1998) was a German philosopher, writer, and entomologist who became widely known for Storm of Steel, his memoir of World War I. He was the author of six novels, including The Glass Bees (available from NYRB Classics), and dozens of works of philosophy. During his lifetime, he received the Goethe Prize as well as the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Tess Lewis has translated works from the French and German, including books by Peter Handke, Anselm Kiefer, and Christine Angot, and for NYRB Classics, The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin. Her awards include the 2017 PEN Translation Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship. She serves as the co-chair of the PEN Translation Committee and is an advisory editor for The Hudson Review.
Jessi Jezewska Stevens is the author of the novels The Exhibition of Persephone Q and The Visitors. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Foreign Policy, The Paris Review, and elsewhere.
Maurice Blanchot (1907–2003) was a French writer and philosopher whose books, including Death Sentence, Thomas the Obscure, and The Space of Literature, frequently blended narrative and theory.
Tess Lewis has translated works from the French and German, including books by Peter Handke, Anselm Kiefer, and Christine Angot, and for NYRB Classics, The Storyteller Essays by Walter Benjamin. Her awards include the 2017 PEN Translation Prize and a Guggenheim fellowship. She serves as the co-chair of the PEN Translation Committee and is an advisory editor for The Hudson Review.
Jessi Jezewska Stevens is the author of the novels The Exhibition of Persephone Q and The Visitors. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Foreign Policy, The Paris Review, and elsewhere.
Maurice Blanchot (1907–2003) was a French writer and philosopher whose books, including Death Sentence, Thomas the Obscure, and The Space of Literature, frequently blended narrative and theory.
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?
Books Similar to On the Marble Cliffs
Save to a list
0
/30
0
/100
Private List