Synopsis
Asked which book by another author he would most like to claim as his own work, Italo Calvino once said without hesitation, Adelbert von Chamisso's Peter Schlemiel. First published in 1814, this brilliant novel is not only a precursor of Poe, Kafka, and the magic realists - it is a timeless fable with a remarkably contemporary flavor.
When a mysterious man in a gray coat asks Peter Schlemiel if he would sell him his shadow, that "lovely, lovely shadow" of his, he naturally thinks the man must be mad. But then the stranger makes him an offer he can't refuse.
In return for his shadow, Schlemiel receives a neverending source of riches, and he is convinced he is on the road to happiness. Yet he finds that without a shadow he is rejected by society and unable to find the fulfillment of love. After a series of fantastic adventures, Peter Schlemiel realizes that he must discover a new way to give his life meaning if he is to go on in the world.
Adelbert von Chamisso was born in France, but moved at an early age to Prussia, where he lived during the Franco-Prussian war. Chamisso felt that he belonged equally to both war-torn cultures. Peter Schlemiel was written soon after Prussia's defeat by Napoleon, and was Chamisso's answer to a world in turmoil. The novel was an immediate success, and it catapulted him to international fame.
Peter Wortsman's new translation lets us rediscover all the charm wit, and power of this classic tale. In his introduction he gives us the historical background of the novel and traces its influence on the literature of the twentieth century.
Reviews
An early 19th-century German classic by an author who felt constantly displaced by his Franco-German heritage at a time when those nations were at war, this slender novel carries both echoes of Faust and distinct premonitions of Kafka. It has not been available here for many years, and this fluent translation is a most welcome addition to Romantic literature. Schlemiel--the name is a very conscious use of the Yiddish word meaning "God's fool"--is a poor man, seeking to rise in society, who meets a magical figure at a rich man's manor. The magician offers to buy his shadow in exchange for a purse that offers untold riches. Schlemiel naturally accepts and indeed becomes a figure of great wealth, only to find that the lack of his shadow undermines any possibility of living normally, or of finding love. In the end, he rejects the magician's offer to return his shadow in exchange for his soul, acquires a pair of seven-league boots and, by leaping around the world observing and recording, attempts to make amends for his foolishness by becoming a dedicated naturalist. The work is a delicate blend of comedy and tragedy, with symbolism carefully tempered by exact observation. It is easy to see why the book was an enormous contemporary success and continues to be much admired in Europe.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
This odd novel took Europe by storm when it debuted in 1814. Protagonist Peter Schlemiel sells his shadow to a mysterious stranger for great riches, believing it will put life's dreams within his grasp. Instead, he finds only isolation and remorse. Translator Wortsman also supplies an introduction in which he traces the novel's history and its influence upon European literature.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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