Mimes
1893
First Published
4.09
Average Rating
133
Number of Pages
An English translation of a collection of twenty short "prose-songs" (as the Foreword declares them), with a Prologue and Epilogue, from the French writer Marcel Schwob (1867-1905). These surreal, hallucinatory little sketches - Schwob's unique take on 3rd century BCE Greek poet Herodas' then-newly discovered mimes - first appeared in L’Écho de Paris in serialised form from July 19th 1891 to June 7th 1892. A key figure of the late 19th-century French symbolist movement, Schwob's best known work is perhaps The Book of Monelle - "an assemblage of fairy tales, nihilist philosophy, and aphorisms tightly woven into a tapestry of deep emotional suffering" - which is considered by many to have been the unofficial bible of the French Symbolist movement. Although not widely known today, Schwob's influence on the literary landscape of the 20th century was huge, not only in relation to the surrealist movement which would flourish in the decades following his death but also beyond, to such authors as William Faulkner, Jorge Luis Borges, and Roberto Bolaño.
Avg Rating
4.09
Number of Ratings
66
5 STARS
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4 STARS
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3 STARS
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2 STARS
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Author
Marcel Schwob
Author · 10 books
Marcel Schwob (1867-1905) was one of the key symbolist writers, standing in French literature alongside such names as Stephane Mallarme, Octave Mirbeau, Andre Gide, Leon Bloy, Jules Renard, Remy de Gourmont, and Alfred Jarry. His best-known works are Double Heart (1891), The King In The Gold Mask (1892), and Imaginary Lives (1896).
