The Golem (Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature)
At a glance:
- Author: Gustav Meyer
- First Published: 1913
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Fantasy—theological romance
- Time of Work: 1890
- Setting: Prague
- Genres: Long fiction, Children’s literature, Folklore, Fantasy
- Subjects: Prisons, Nineteenth century, Dreams, Czechoslovakia or Czechoslovakians, Hats, Dopplegangers, Amnesia
- Locales: Prague, Czechoslovakia
The Plot
Gustav Meyrink probably began work on The Golem in 1906. Almost seven years later, Meyrink and a friend plotted the characters and action diagrammatically and eliminated about half the material. The novel was published serially in the periodical Die weissen Blätter in 1913 and 1914.
Narrated in the first person, the novel opens with a nightmare. The dreamer is identified as Athanasius Pernath, a gem engraver and restorer of old manuscripts who lives in the Prague ghetto. Pernath is unable to recall his early life because of an amnesia hypnotically...
[The entire page is 1079 words long]
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