The Architect of Ruins (Dedalus Europe 2011) [Paperback]

Herbert Rosendorfer (Author), Mike Mitchell (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2011 | Series: Dedalus Europe 2011

The Architect of Ruins is considered one of the masterpieces of 20th century German fiction. An archetypal Dedalus novel with its literary game-playing and story-within-a-story technique. It has the labyrinthine brilliance of Robert Irwin's The Arabian Nightmare and Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. Four men led by the Architect of Ruins construct an Armagedon shelter, in the shape of a giant cigar, so that when the end of the world comes they can enter eternity in the right mood, whilst playing a Schubert string quartet. They amuse themselves by telling stories, which take on a life of their own, with walk on parts for Faust, Don Juan, da Ponte, and G.K. Chesterton etc as the narrative flashes back and forth between the Dark Ages and the Modern Day, like a literary Mobius strip. Although for European readers it will call to mind Jan Potocki's The Saragossa Manuscript, for English readers the wit and humour of The Architect of Ruins will make it read like a 20th century sequel to Laurence Sterne's Tristram Shandy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a book of paradoxes to shake you out of your complacent preconceptions about time, narrative order and the experience of reading." -- Lucasta Miller, The Times

"Herbert Rosendorfer is a German writer. Despite that he has a sense of humor." -- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"Amazing web of interlinked stories, with lots of musical references." -- Malcolm Smith in Booklist

About the Author

Herbert Rosendorfer was born in Germany in 1934. His first novel Der Ruinenbaumeister (1969) was a critical and commercial success, and is regarded by many critics as one of the masterpieces of German twentieth-century fiction. It was published in English by Dedalus in 1992 as The Architect of Ruins. This was followed by Stephanie in 1995, which was shortlisted for the Shlegel-Tieck Translation Prize. Letters Back to Ancient China is the most commercially successful of his novels. Mike Mitchell's translation was awarded the Schlegel-Tieck Translation Prize in 1997.

For many years an academic with a special interest in Austrian literature and culture, Mike Mitchell has been a freelance literary translator since 1995.He has published over fifty translations from German and French, including Gustav Meyrink's five novels and The Dedalus Book of Austrian Fantasy. His translation of Rosendorfer's Letters Back to Ancient China won the 1998 Schlegel-Tieck Translation Prize after he had been shortlisted in previous years for his translations of Stephanie by Herbert Rosendorfer and The Golem by Gustav Meyrink.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Dedalus Limited; 2 edition (May 31, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1903517796
• ISBN-13: 978-1903517796
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,446,168 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mobus Strip of a book, November 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Architect of Ruins (Paperback)

The author integrates the fantastical and historical in a dream on dream - layer on layer of a book. The character may have a dream - and in the dream a character will tell a story and in that story you encounter a mystery that envolves another dream - etc. etc. And you think that you will never find the thread to lead you home - yet all is kept meticulously on track from Faust to Alice in Wonderland - this book is engrossing and bewitching - I can honestly say that I have never encountered a more startlingly original book. It deserves the Daedalys Award it received. If you like David Foster Wallace, Madeline L'Engel, Lewis Carroll - you are assured of a satisfying and brilliant read.