Author: E. T. A. Hoffmann Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories:
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ISBNs: 9783150001011 3150001013 |
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I don't like this, I thought. Clumsy Anselmus makes a silly appearance (well described, admittedly), causing a mess of carts and apples and people in a market place. I hate slapstick, and I hate clumsiness in literature, having to live with it every minute of every day in my real life! I still don't like this, I thought.Ambition and bourgeois wedding plans emerge on the scene, and I can't be bothered with who makes the race to the best position in the tedious work life on offer, and I am still less interested in who gets to marry Veronica, who is the human prize for professional promotion.Wait a minute, I think I like this, I thought.A salamander appears in the story, with three beautiful daughters to marry off. They are shiny, golden-green snakes, and they are tempting my brain. Did I just really read that, or have I been losing concentration? No, it really happened on paper, but is it meant to be REALLY real, or just a figment of a character's imagination?All of a sudden poetry and reality merge and golden snakes turn out to be better matches for young creative students than matronly, ambitious women looking for a title-by-proxy and a nice house to be envied.Anselmus chooses poetry over prose, and this fairy tales shows the way to modern escapism and magic realism! Pure delight in creative power!
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