The Golem (original German title: ) is a Gothic novel written by Gustav Meyrink between 1907 and 1914. It became his most popular and successful literary work, Also, in a letter, he called it, "[t]he most magnificent weird thing I've come across in aeons!"
Dave Langford reviewed The Golem for White Dwarf #80, and stated that "It's the sort of nightmare you might have after an evening of too much lobster and Kafka. Very strange."
The Guardian writer David Barnett said in his article about the novel that it is "one of the most absorbing, atmospheric and mind-boggling slices of fantasy ever committed to print," and "[a] century after its first publication, The Golem endures as a piece of modernist fantasy that deserves to take its place alongside Kafka."
English translations
Since The Golem was first published in German, there have been at least three translations into English:
- Madge Pemberton (1928): First published by Houghton Mifflin Co. and Victor Gollancz Ltd. Published by Mudra in 1972. Published by Dover Publications in 1976. Published by Dedalus Ltd in 1985. Published by Centipede Press in 2012.
- Mike Mitchell (1995): First published by Ariadne Press. Published by Dedalus Ltd in 2000. Published by Tartarus Press in 2004. Published by Folio Society in 2010.
- Isabel Cole (2007): Published by Vitalis.
The Dover Publications edition was edited by E. F. Bleiler, who made some alterations to Pemberton's translation.
Adaptation for film and theatre
The novel was the basis for the following movies:
- Golem, directed by Piotr Szulkin, made in 1979, released in 1980.
- Le Golem (1967), film for television directed by Jean Kerchbron
The novel was adapted for the theatre by Daniel Flint, and received a world premiere in 2013.
References
Sources
- Matei Chihaia: Der Golem-Effekt. Orientierung und phantastische Immersion im Zeitalter des Kinos transcript, Bielefeld 2011
External links
- Meyrink's original text in German (Der Golem)
- The Golem, public domain audiobook at LibriVox