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Nucleus, v. 3, issue 1, Septermber 1941
31858063105039_007
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CONCERNING CABELL by PAUL H. SPENCER 7 No, not Campbell, Cabell -- with the accent on the first syllable. James Branch Cabell to be exact, though since publication of his Collected Works he has been writing under the abbreviated name of Branch Cabell. You perhaps don't know it, but this man Cabell is one of the greatest masters of fantasy which America has produced.He's not in a class with Doc Smith, A. Merritt, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc.-- he belongs to that yet greater clan which includes Edgar Allen Poe, Algernon Blackwood, and H.G. Wells. The most famous work of Cabell's is Jurgen, which is generally accepted as a gem of he naughty-naughty type of story. More important, it's a masterpiece of fantasy. It concerns a lecherous, middle-aged pawnbroker who regains a year of his youth, and during that year voyages rakishly through many colorful lands of mythology. Though Jurgen tells a complete story, it is not actually a separate rntity; it is merely one episode out of a gigantic epic which includes everything published over Cabell's full name. This work, the Biography of the Life of Manuel, is prefaced by Beyond Life, an exquisite but highly sarcastic esthetic-philosophical discourse; it begins its main thread with Figures of Earth, which tells of Manuel's magical adventures, and it continues though almost a score of volumes with the story of those people who inherited Manuel's life, by virtue of being his descendents. The books making up this long genealogical novel are, roughly speaking, of three types: semi-contemporary romances, quasi-historical tales, and allegorical fantasies Two basic points of view are represented: the outlook of the romantic, who contends that man's life has a high purpose and is filled with beauty and purity and holiness; and the philosophy of the realist, who sees in life no aim and no lasting beauty. These two points of view are presented through the eyes of three different types of men: the chivalrous man, the gallant, and the poet. A pretty nearly complete picture of human life is thus built up. The most striking characteristics of the Cabellian romances are the exquisite classical style, the razor-edge wit, and the rich fund of imagination which is always giving the story odd and delightful twists. Aside from the conventional and rather unimportant works of Cabell's youth, these books are not the sort of thing to be relished by Puritans. Sex runs rampant, and is in fact rather over-emphasized. Cabell gets away with some really hair-raising violations of the most sacred taboos. Nor is this obsession with sex Cabell's only fault The philosophy he most ardently champions is one of blackest pessimism; his carefully polished style becomes at times too obviously forced; his plots repeat each other ad infinitum; and his favorite subject (thinly disguised) is himself. I point out these faults so that if you start in on Cabell you won't expect too much; but I have no intention of disparaging his works. In fact, with all his faults, Cabell is one of the most gripping and stimulating writers I have ever come across. Unless, by the most amazing good fortune, you have access to the wonderful Storisende Edition of Cabell's works (in which case you should simply start at the beginning and work through), you had better begin with The Cream of the Jest, a beautiful fantasy which admirably blends romance and realism. If that's unavailable , though your local public library should have it, try Jurgen (if you have to buy it, better get Grosset & Dunlap's $1.00 edition). Thereafter, you're on your own, but I might suggest as Cabell's most brilliant fantasies the following: Figures of Earth, Something About Eve, The High Place, (continued on page 3)
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CONCERNING CABELL by PAUL H. SPENCER 7 No, not Campbell, Cabell -- with the accent on the first syllable. James Branch Cabell to be exact, though since publication of his Collected Works he has been writing under the abbreviated name of Branch Cabell. You perhaps don't know it, but this man Cabell is one of the greatest masters of fantasy which America has produced.He's not in a class with Doc Smith, A. Merritt, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc.-- he belongs to that yet greater clan which includes Edgar Allen Poe, Algernon Blackwood, and H.G. Wells. The most famous work of Cabell's is Jurgen, which is generally accepted as a gem of he naughty-naughty type of story. More important, it's a masterpiece of fantasy. It concerns a lecherous, middle-aged pawnbroker who regains a year of his youth, and during that year voyages rakishly through many colorful lands of mythology. Though Jurgen tells a complete story, it is not actually a separate rntity; it is merely one episode out of a gigantic epic which includes everything published over Cabell's full name. This work, the Biography of the Life of Manuel, is prefaced by Beyond Life, an exquisite but highly sarcastic esthetic-philosophical discourse; it begins its main thread with Figures of Earth, which tells of Manuel's magical adventures, and it continues though almost a score of volumes with the story of those people who inherited Manuel's life, by virtue of being his descendents. The books making up this long genealogical novel are, roughly speaking, of three types: semi-contemporary romances, quasi-historical tales, and allegorical fantasies Two basic points of view are represented: the outlook of the romantic, who contends that man's life has a high purpose and is filled with beauty and purity and holiness; and the philosophy of the realist, who sees in life no aim and no lasting beauty. These two points of view are presented through the eyes of three different types of men: the chivalrous man, the gallant, and the poet. A pretty nearly complete picture of human life is thus built up. The most striking characteristics of the Cabellian romances are the exquisite classical style, the razor-edge wit, and the rich fund of imagination which is always giving the story odd and delightful twists. Aside from the conventional and rather unimportant works of Cabell's youth, these books are not the sort of thing to be relished by Puritans. Sex runs rampant, and is in fact rather over-emphasized. Cabell gets away with some really hair-raising violations of the most sacred taboos. Nor is this obsession with sex Cabell's only fault The philosophy he most ardently champions is one of blackest pessimism; his carefully polished style becomes at times too obviously forced; his plots repeat each other ad infinitum; and his favorite subject (thinly disguised) is himself. I point out these faults so that if you start in on Cabell you won't expect too much; but I have no intention of disparaging his works. In fact, with all his faults, Cabell is one of the most gripping and stimulating writers I have ever come across. Unless, by the most amazing good fortune, you have access to the wonderful Storisende Edition of Cabell's works (in which case you should simply start at the beginning and work through), you had better begin with The Cream of the Jest, a beautiful fantasy which admirably blends romance and realism. If that's unavailable , though your local public library should have it, try Jurgen (if you have to buy it, better get Grosset & Dunlap's $1.00 edition). Thereafter, you're on your own, but I might suggest as Cabell's most brilliant fantasies the following: Figures of Earth, Something About Eve, The High Place, (continued on page 3)
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