The Thousand and Second Night
Från FrankHeller
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| - | | | + | | Edwin Björkman |
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==Recensioner== | ==Recensioner== | ||
| - | + | *''The Argus'' (Melbourne, Vic. Australien 1848 - 1957) Fredag 4 juni 1926 | |
| - | ''The Argus'' (Melbourne, Vic. Australien 1848 - 1957) Fredag 4 juni 1926 | + | |
:Arabian Nights | :Arabian Nights | ||
:The Arabian Nights stories are all very well in their place (which, by the way, is under lock and key if the edition be unabridged), but when an author deliberately brings their atmosphere and action into the 20th century, and mixes up very modern characters with them, he should be called upon to show cause should he have any desire to be taken seriously. In "The Thousand and Second Night" (London: Williams and Norgate Lid.) Mr. Frank Heller does these things with results which can hardly be classed as happy. Handled more skilfully the idea might have been a great success, but Mr. Heller somehow misses his mark. The story leaves one with the sense of irritation, because it is "one of the might-have-beens." It tells how three thorugh-paced rogues meet with a marabout in an oasis in the Sahara, who posesses a prayer rug with occult properties. The rug cannot come into the possession of another either by purchase or gift or robbery with violece; only trickory can be effective in bringing about a changee of ownership. The three rascals are not quite aware of the peculiar conditions attaching to obtaining possession. Their endeavours land them in some uncommonly tight places, but there is a lack of spontaneity in the happenings that if fatal to their effect. The story is amusing, but scarecly worth of the form in which the publishers have produced it. | :The Arabian Nights stories are all very well in their place (which, by the way, is under lock and key if the edition be unabridged), but when an author deliberately brings their atmosphere and action into the 20th century, and mixes up very modern characters with them, he should be called upon to show cause should he have any desire to be taken seriously. In "The Thousand and Second Night" (London: Williams and Norgate Lid.) Mr. Frank Heller does these things with results which can hardly be classed as happy. Handled more skilfully the idea might have been a great success, but Mr. Heller somehow misses his mark. The story leaves one with the sense of irritation, because it is "one of the might-have-beens." It tells how three thorugh-paced rogues meet with a marabout in an oasis in the Sahara, who posesses a prayer rug with occult properties. The rug cannot come into the possession of another either by purchase or gift or robbery with violece; only trickory can be effective in bringing about a changee of ownership. The three rascals are not quite aware of the peculiar conditions attaching to obtaining possession. Their endeavours land them in some uncommonly tight places, but there is a lack of spontaneity in the happenings that if fatal to their effect. The story is amusing, but scarecly worth of the form in which the publishers have produced it. | ||
| - | ''The Australasian'' (Melbourne, Vic. Australien 1864 - 1946) Lördag 18 december 1926 | + | *''The Australasian'' (Melbourne, Vic. Australien 1864 - 1946) Lördag 18 december 1926 |
:Few British or American writers can equal Mr. Frank Heller in the writing of mystery stories. His books are made more delightful by the fact that he is apparently unaware of the accepted conventions for mystery stories in use among English-speaking writers, and so he occupies the unique position of a writer of mystery stories who is really able to baffle his readers, and never fails to surprise us with his solutions. "The Thousand and Second Night". (London: Williams and Norgate), translated from the Swedish by Edwin Bjorkman, is no exception to this rule. The story takes place in Northern Africa, and concerns the search for a treasure lost for hundreds of years. The treasure can only be found by the possessor of an enchanted rug, and this can only be obtained by deceit or theft. The way to the treasure lies across a salt lake, known variously as the Lake of Death and the Bathing Place of the Devils. Only a narrow path across the lake is solid, the rest being of quicksand. The sense of mystery is perfectly sustained throughout the book, and an element of the supernatural is introduced by the enchanted rug. | :Few British or American writers can equal Mr. Frank Heller in the writing of mystery stories. His books are made more delightful by the fact that he is apparently unaware of the accepted conventions for mystery stories in use among English-speaking writers, and so he occupies the unique position of a writer of mystery stories who is really able to baffle his readers, and never fails to surprise us with his solutions. "The Thousand and Second Night". (London: Williams and Norgate), translated from the Swedish by Edwin Bjorkman, is no exception to this rule. The story takes place in Northern Africa, and concerns the search for a treasure lost for hundreds of years. The treasure can only be found by the possessor of an enchanted rug, and this can only be obtained by deceit or theft. The way to the treasure lies across a salt lake, known variously as the Lake of Death and the Bathing Place of the Devils. Only a narrow path across the lake is solid, the rest being of quicksand. The sense of mystery is perfectly sustained throughout the book, and an element of the supernatural is introduced by the enchanted rug. | ||
| + | *''The Saturday Review'', August 29, 1925, s. 91 | ||
| + | :We had heard of "the cleverest rogue in modern fiction" and approached the English translation of his latest exploits with keenest anticipation. Now that the book is finished, although we read it with sustained interest, we wonder why the story was inflated to full novel length. | ||
| + | :The circumlocutions of Ibrahim are continuously and heavily flavored with Saharan diction and superstition, but impress the reader as unfair marking of time. It is evident from the first incident of the adventure that Professor Pelotard is to do heroic stuff and rescue his companion fugutives from justice from the stronghold of the Islamic lord-of-manor. Thus it is that Ibrahim and his borrowed device of Arabian Nights entertainment frequently causes savage impatience in the reader (and it is not the sort of impatience healthy to readers of adventure yarns.) | ||
| + | :It would be unprincipaled to reveal the plot of the story, which concerns itself with a search for fortune bv three companion adventurers, but those who never know what happens within the covers of the book will really not suffer an irreparable loss. | ||
| + | :The publisher is to be commended for the pleasing type page and the sturdiness of this light and attractive volume. | ||
| + | * ''The Bookman'', November 1925, s. 328 | ||
| + | :Adventure and treasure hunting, handicapped by African witchcraft, most amusingly mixed with the "Arabian Nights". | ||
| + | * "Skeiks and a Djinn" ''The New York Herald'' European Edition 2.11.1925 | ||
| + | :“The Thousand and Second Night,” by Frank Heller, translated from the Swedish by Edwin Bjbrkman (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 82). | ||
| + | :From Sweden emerges a humorful fantasy by Frank Heller deserving instant attention from those in serch of diversion. Mr. Collin, of whom this author has written before, appears in the Sahara (presumably) Desert with two travelling companions, and when he purchases an enchanted rug from a wizard, complications arise which can only be ascribed to the machinations of a hard working and potent brand of djinn. We learn, among other things, in what manner the fates of the travellers are entwined for a time with those of the villainous Bashir, the son of Abdullah, and his wife, the beautous Aouma, whose compulsory tale-telling in the manner of Scheherazade provides the title. And then there are the Devil’s Lake and the treasure of the ancestors of Herr von Totleben. His publishers rightly refer to Mr. Heller as “the crossword-artist of plot construction.” His engaging humor, admirably conveyed in Edwin Bjorkman’s translation, makes up for any slight absence of logic elsewhere. Indeed, the slightly made narrative method is a notable part of Heller’s charm. | ||
| + | * ''The American Mercury'', November 1925, s. lviii | ||
| + | * ''The Nation'', December 23, 1925, s. 738 | ||
[[Category:Titel|Thousand and Second Night, The]] | [[Category:Titel|Thousand and Second Night, The]] | ||
