The Sibyl [Unknown Binding]

Par Lagerkvist (Author), Naomi Walford (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1958

In this powerful, poetic, and moving parable, the Wandering Jew of medieval Christian legend journeys to Delphi to consult the famed oracle of the pagans. He is turned away but not before learning that one of the most adept of the old priestesses, or sibyls, lives in disgrace in the mountains above the temple. In her rude goat-hut he seeks the meaning of his disastrous brush with the son of God. She reveals that she, too, has been touched by the son of a god, a very different son, not quite human, born of her own body. He dwells with her as a constant reminder of the betrayal of her mystical and erotic union with the divine, her punishment, and—perhaps—her redemption.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The author of some thirty-five books, PÄR FABIAN LAGERKVIST (1891-1974) was celebrated in his time for his versatility as a poet, dramatist, essayist, and novelist. He was elected to the Swedish Academy in 1940 and in 1951 was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

From AudioFile

THE SIBYL offers an opportunity to hear the work of a Nobel Prize-winning author (1951) whose work is not particularly well known in English. An old woman who lives in the mountains near Delphi is visited by the legendary Wandering Jew, who was cursed with immortality for refusing to let Jesus rest on his way to being crucified. The recording uses its three narrators to good effect, with the majority of the narration given over to the woman's own rambling tale. While all three narrators handle their roles well, the tale is tiresome, the narration unable to transcend the material. D.B. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Unknown Binding: 156 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1st edition (January 1, 1958)
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00005WUFM
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,833,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning myth on the quest to find substance!, July 3, 2001

By 

Jonathan Burgoine "bookseller" (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sibyl (Paperback)

On the surface, "The Sibyl" seems to be a decent enough myth about a man who was cursed by Christ for a show of inhospitality, and his approaching an ex-prophetess of Apollo on a mountainside overlooking Delphi.

This book, however, delves into the mythological implications of the human being searching for meaning in a world where gods, or God, allows pain and evil to exist. The characters have no names, a feature often found in cosmological and mystical myths to help the reader "step into" the roles found therein. A truly moving account of the pains of being not just called, but Chosen, and of ultimately finding a place for onesself in an often harsh world.

Written in 1956, "The Sibyl" is full of the sense of confusion and loss of the post war era, and Lagerkvist's own, often pessimistic, philosophical debates on the nature of man's significance.

There are some truly rewarding passages in this book, though one of the easy pitfalls is to assume any mention of "god" refers to the Judeau-Christian God, when often the reference is to Apollo, a contextual reference point for the use of one of the more famous Sibyls of history. The myth is ancient, but Par Lagerkvist's retelling is contemporarily bound - and the questions asked are both very old and still presently unanswered.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lagerkvist's Masterpeice about the Divine..., September 9, 2002

By 

Sema Karaceper - CPC (Ottawa, ON - Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sibyl (Paperback)

The Sibyl is most certainly a wonderful piece of literature of profound imagery and mythical content. It was the first book I read from the Nobel Prize of Literature recipient for Barrabus - Par Lagerkvist, which ignited my interest in his other novels, short stories and essays.
The Sibyl is a remarkable short parable about the struggles of the good and bad occurrences between the diving and human beings.
A wondering Jew whose only experience with God being a negative one, was cursed by the son of God for his impatient words on his way to crucifixion. Demonstrating how one instance could change a person's life forever. He begins to believe in the curse and seeks insight form a legendary Pathia, who lives in a cave in the mountains over looking Delphi. The Pathia like himself experienced the wrath of God. She then tells a story of the blissful love to the merciless unsympathetic side which exists in the same God. Unlike the Jew however the Sibyl accepts God. The divine is not just a man on the clouds dictating people's lives but it's the impulses of nature, in animals, in lust, in every emotion humans are faced with.
This book leaves us with one prophecy which is that God is both love and hate and both exist to form a connection with him. The Sibyl dives into the quest for meaning, dealing with terrors and the wonders of existence. Wonderfully written and a truly captivating read.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Profound exploration of human experience of the divine., January 29, 2005

By 

Monika "equestrienne_23" (Davis, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sibyl (Paperback)

"The Sibyl" introduces us to an old woman who, in her younger days, served as a pythia or high priestess in the temple of the oracle at Delphi. One day she is visited at her remote mountainside dwelling by a wandering Jew, who was turned away at the temple because the oracle could not give him the answers he seeks concerning his destiny. He relates his story to the woman, how he was cursed by the son of God when, not knowing his identity, the man refused to let him rest for a moment against the wall of his house. The unfortunate man is now doomed to wander the earth forever, immortal, without possibility of rest or happiness. His wife and child have left him, and he is unable to find joy or fulfilment in anything. His eyes are described as empty, dried-up wells.

The woman then tells her own story, about how she was chosen to be god's bride in the temple. Her relationship with her god is a disturbing one, passionate and violent, as she serves as a vessel through which Apollo speaks to the priests. She loves her god with a consuming fervor, but constantly feels more like an abandoned lover than a beloved bride. And when she explores the realms of human love with a man of the village, she must face the consequences of her betrayal of god. Driven from the temple by an angry mob, she seeks refuge in the mountains above the city, where she bears god's son, a witless boy who does nothing but sit all day in their hut, smiling vacantly at nothing.

As the man and woman share their stories, they contemplate the nature of god, and the nature of the relationship between the human and the divine. We see clearly that god is not always a benevolent force, but brings both joy and sorrow, both pleasure and pain into the world. We also see that, though every person experiences god in his or her own way, no one escapes experience of the divine, and we are all bound to god, for better or for worse.

I do not capitalize "god" here because the book is not concerned solely with the Christian God, though he does play a role in the story, but with a much broader, more universal human experience of the divine. The bulk of the book centers on the pythia's relationship with the sun god, Apollo, but we also encounter numerous other deities and spiritual forces, including more intangible river gods, tree gods, etc. Many of the deities are interconnected and cannot be fully distinguished from one another. Apollo himself is infused with references to Pan, the goat-god of the mountains above Delphi. "The Sibyl" is a captivating and deeply thought-provoking spiritual journey. It does not offer concrete answers, but inspires readers to search within themselves to discover the nature of their own, personal relationship with the divine.

This review refers to the 1958 Vintage Books printing, translated my Naomi Walford.