Jurgen: a Comedy of Justice, by James Branch Cabell; with Twelve Illustrations by Ray F. Coyle ...

by James Branch Cabell

Book Overview

James Branch Cabell's classic tale of comic fantasy, which defined the genre for later writers such as Terry Pratchett. The eponymous Jurgen embarks on an epic quest through fantastical realms,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B002B9MW7M
• Release Date: January 1923
• Publisher: New York R. M. McBride & Company
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

America's secret weapon - it rates 10 stars.

I accidentally bumped into this book when I was in my 20s. Had no idea where it would lead me. Read it practically in one sitting. I was amazed that I understood what Cabell was driving at even tho I could not have explained it coherently to anyone. Next I re-read it in my 50s. I never read books twice. Still amazed by it. The book was buried in a box, after house moving many times. I re-discovered it last night. Now in my 80s I'm reading it all over again. Amazed as ever.

An Intellectual Romp in the Hay

Magically recovering his youth, Jurgen, a poet-cum-pawn broker of medaeval France, begins an erotic odyssey, in which he beds King Arthur's bride-to-be, a love goddess in her realm of pleasure, a tree nymph, the queen of Philistines, a vampire in Hell. He also gets to talk to God, Satan -- and the mysterious Katschei, creator of all things as they are. Full of puns, word play, references to obscure myths and legends of various cultures, and Americanizing the tradition of the picaresque epic, JURGEN is a delight for the Mensa set and ordinary readers alike. This edition reproduces the delightful illustrations cut for the first British publication of the work.

The Eternal Curmudgeon

Early in his journey, Cabell's Jurgen comes to a place known as 'The Garden Between Dawn and Sunrise.' In the garden live all the imaginary creatures that humankind has ever created: centaurs and sphinxes, fairies, valkyries, and baba-yagas. Jurgen is surprised when he sees his first-love wandering around the garden, but his guide replies "Why, all the women that man has ever loved live here...for very obvious reasons."Moments like this, simultaneously jaded and genuine, sentimental and cynical, are the most delightful parts of 'Jurgen: A Comedy of Justice.' Nominally the story of a medieval pawnbroker's quest to find his lost wife, 'Jurgen' becomes a bildungsroman in reverse as, on the way, its hero regains his youth and visits the lands of European myth, from Camelot to Cocaigne (the land of pleasure) -- each land shows Jurgen a way of life, and he rejects each in favor of his own sardonic stoicism, for he is, after all, a "monstrously clever fellow." That phrase describes Cabell as much as it does Jurgen: the author is remarkably erudite, and, like a doting parent hiding easter eggs, drops in-jokes through the book on subjects as far-ranging as troubadour poetry and tantric sex. Cabell corresponded with Aleister Crowley in his day, and, in ours, is an influence on Neil Gaiman ('The Sandman,' 'Neverwhere,' etc.). The book itself caused quite a splash when it became the centerpiece of one of the biggest censorship trials of the early 20th century: something to do with Jurgen's very large *ahem* sword.Social satire and an idiosyncratic cynicism in the guise of a scholarly romance-fantasy, 'Jurgen' is what would have happened if J.R.R. Tolkien and Dorothy Parker had gotten together to write a book.

The Great American Fantasy Novel

In the 1920s, James Branch Cabell (rhymes with "rabble") was considered by many to be one of the greatest American writers, based on this novel. Tastes changed with the coming of the Great Depression; worse, Cabell never again came close to writing a book of this quality, despite his many attempts. Whether or not Cabell is a great writer (and I incline to the view that writers should be judged by their best rather than their mediocre works), Jurgen is a great book, full of insight and a joy to read. The eponymous protagonist is a middle-aged pawnbroker who is given an opportunity to relive his youth. In his travels he encounters, among others, Guenevere, the Master Philologist, the Philistines, his father's Hell, and his grandmother's Heaven. In the end he has an opportunity to question Koshchei who made all things as they are. I heartily recommend this novel. Although it is in an older fantasy tradition, it is at least as readable and enjoyable as the best contemporary fantasy, and its literary quality is far greater. I have re-read it many times.