Customer Reviews

Seraphita (Short Story Index Reprint Series)

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The opening of this book is one of the most sublime and lovely scenes in French literature. It is the description of an ascent up a Norwegian fjord by a girl and an other-worldy being,and, as Gautier said, "He has used no colors but the pure blue of the sky, the white of the snow, and a few pearly tints for the shadows."

The rest of the book involves long didactic sermons, but as the sermons pertain to Swedenborgian theology, they are aestheitcally gratifying as well as instructive.

Amateurs may be confused by the character of Seraphita/Seraphitus, who continually fluctuates between both genders, and some may fail to see how this all relates to the Human Comedy, but I think most readers will be entirely capable of enjoying and comprehending this wonderful novel.

One of the very greatest achievements of European literature. A pair of lovers transcend every conceivable spiritual obstacle to transcend their very sexual identities, becoming one with one another in the most refined and lofty circumstances imaginable. And you believe it, if you are ready. Balzac's and the reader's Mt. Everest, equaled but not surpassed by Holderlin's HYPERION and other great contemporaneous works of German romanticism.

This story about Seraphita/Seraphitus draws the reader in with well-drawn descriptions of the Norwegian fjords, icy hills, and vast spaces. However, the only thing that compelled me to keep reading past the remarkable setting was the intriguing ambiguity about whether the main character was Seraphita or Seraphitus.

Unfortunately, the main point of the whole story was religious awakening. There was extensive discussion of Swedenborg, who apparently founded yet another Christian sect. So unless one is very interested in obscure Christian sects, or is willing to skip large sections of boring text this book might be avoided.