The Angel of the West Window (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought Translation Series) [Paperback]

Gustav Meyrink (Author), Mike Mitchell (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1991 | Series: Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought Translation Series

A complex and ambitious novel which centres on the life of the Elizabethan magus John Dee, in England, Poland and Prague, as it intertwines past and present, dreams and visions, myth and reality in a world of the occult, culminating in the transmutation of physical reality into a higher spiritual existence. John Dee, through his 20th century descendent, is led by the Green Angel to the "Other Side of The Mirror."

Product Details

• Paperback: 421 pages
• Publisher: Ariadne Pr (September 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0929497449
• ISBN-13: 978-0929497440
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,139,523 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Angel at the West Window, July 24, 2000

By 

Frank Göbel (Cologne, NRW Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Angel of the West Window (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought Translation Series) (Paperback)

A man inherits the collected papers of his deceased cousin and is suddenly plagued with nightmares and flashbacks of the past and of the life of his ancestor, John Dee. Strange people start visiting him: the mysterious Lipotin, the seductive Assia Chotokalungin, both demanding of him his most valuable heirloom, the legendary spear head of Hoel Dhat, of which he has no knowledge of possession. Full of alchemistic symbols, the plot spans the time from the reign of Elizabeth I. to early 20th century. The atmosphere is one of increasing angst, the images heavily tinted with the shadiest of grays. Highly recommended!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alchemical mystery in the vein of H.P.Lovecraft., February 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Angel of the West Window (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought Translation Series) (Paperback)

First published in 1927, with the decidedly Victorian dread spun by the likes of H.P.Lovecraft, Meyrink takes us into the slowly evolving nightmare of a man as he uncovers the secrets of his ancestor, John Dee; occultist and metaphysician to Queen Elizabeth I. Ultimately, one wonders whether the main character is losing himself in John Dee or if John Dee is dreaming the future of his own bloodline. Either way, the atmosphere is creepy as a crypt, and the labyrinth of deftly constructed alchemical symbolism marks Meyrink as an adept of literature as well as the Dark Arts

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intimations of Immortality, October 14, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Hackensack, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Angel of the West Window (Studies in Austrian Literature, Culture, and Thought Translation Series) (Paperback)

Meyrink's final work, though flawed, is a brilliant and heartfelt exploration of the individual's search for mystical individuation.
It is evident throughout that the spiritual quest of the main character mirror's Meyrink's own struggles in his final hours.

Because of its profundity, The Angel of the West Window is of more than occult interest; it has a universal application.