The Green Visage

"The Green Visage" (1916) is the second novel by the Austrian author, released a year after the famous "Golem" and surpassing even the unprecedentedly large print runs of its predecessor. Being a virtuoso alchemical variation on the theme of the "eternal wanderer" Ahasver, "The Green Visage" combines in its masterfully constructed structure seemingly incompatible aspects of Western and Eastern esotericism, such as Kabbalah, yoga, and hermetic tradition. Distinctly expressed Gnostic motifs are closely intertwined with dark African cults (Voodoo), and the apocalyptic scene of the destruction of the Dutch capital presented at the end of the novel appears as a sentence against the modern hopelessly desacralized civilization.

The collection of stories is based on selected works of Meyrink from the volumes "The Magic Horn of the Bürgers" (1913) and "Bats" (1916), allowing readers to fully appreciate not only the astonishing imagination of the author but also the remarkable skill with which these little masterpieces are written, sometimes plunging into the pitch-black abysses of nightmare, and at other times elevating to metaphysical heights. A detailed article and thorough comments give the reader an opportunity to better understand the captivating and extremely complex creativity of this truly unique esoteric writer.