Ladislav Klíma

"Ladislav Klima (1878-1928) is considered to be one of the preeminent Czech philosophers of the 20th century, and arguably the greatest of the prewar era. His work has influenced artists of all stripes, most notably Bohumil Hrabal and the Plastic People of the Universe. His approach toward philosophy was similar to that of the sages of ancient India: philosophy should not be limited to speaking or writing about it, it should be lived. This led Klima to embark on a lifelong pursuit of becoming "God," which he equated with Absolute Will. Drawing his greatest inspiration from Schopenhauer and Nietzche, he developed his conception of will and radical subjectivism in numerous essays, aphorisms, prose works, and plays. Though he wrote many novels and stories, The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch is the only full-length work of fiction Klima prepared for publication during his lifetime. In a series of journal entries, the book chronicles the descent into madness of Prince Sternenboch, the German Empire's foremost aristocrat and the Kaiser's favorite. Having become the "lowliest worm" at the hands of his deceased wife Helga, the Queen of Hells, he eventually attains an ultimate state of bliss and salvation. Klima explores here the paradoxical nature of pure spirituality with dark absurdist humor and comically grotesque, often obscene episodes. This volume also includes his notorious essay "My Autobiography." Though Klima's work has been translated into many languages, this is the first book of his to appear in English."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

A Grotesque Romanetto

The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch

Josef Zumr

Bedřich Glaser

Vteřiny věčnosti

Sebrané spisy: Velký roman

Arta a jiné příběhy

Klíma's intense inner life and complex mental state are reflected in his peculiar writings. His eccentricity of style and often volatile prose were intended to convey the deep conflicts attending his thought processes, and this is perhaps best exemplified in the novella Glorious Nemesis. Set in the Tyrol, it is a balladic ghost story that explores the metaphysics of love and death, crime and reincarnation. Sider, a man of twenty-eight, is confronted by a giant mountain named Stag's Head and an ancient hovel standing under a high, black cliff. Out one day on a hike, he encounters two women who will mark his fate: the elder Errata, dressed in red, and the younger Orea, dressed in blue (the two colors of the Virgin Mary). From this point on Sider is on a quest for the All, the Absolute, and to achieve eternity by atoning for the misdeeds of a past life. Willing to risk his entire fortune and sanity, he succumbs to his dreams and hallucinations as Orea, or her doppelgänger, becomes for him a representation of the goddess Nemesis who initiates him into the mysteries of divine retribution.

Glorious Nemesis

Podivné příběhy

Utrpení knížete Sternenhocha

Ladislav Klíma

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