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Title: Figures of Earth
Subtitle: A Comedy of Appearances
Author: James Branch Cabell
Narrator: Robert Blumenfeld
Format: Unabridged
Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
Language: English
Release date: 09-25-12
Publisher: Neil Gaiman Presents
Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 21 votes
Genres: Classics, American Literature
Publisher's Summary:
Award-winning author, narrator, and screenwriter Neil Gaiman personally selected this book, and, using the tools of the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), cast the narrator and produced this work for his audiobook label, Neil Gaiman Presents.
A few words from Neil on Figures of Earth: "After a first round of very strong but not quite perfect auditions, I told the actors that 'the most important thing with Cabell is being able to deadpan a joke. The books are written by a Virginia Gentleman who is capable of making the dirtiest of dirty jokes with a straight face, and who is writing High Fantasy and Poetry, too.' Robert Blumenfeld captured the accent and wit of a man who corresponded with H.L. Mencken, Sinclair Lewis, and in his lifetime counted Mark Twain among his fans!"
Figures of Earth, subtitled "A Comedy of Appearances", follows the vicissitudes of Dom Manuel the Redeemer from his lowly swineherd origins through his unlikely elevation to the Count of Poictesme, and beyond. Published in 1921, it was the second volume of The Biography of Manuel, Cabells great work about an imaginary land that also managed to skewer the world of his upbringing as a Southern Gentleman of Virginia, and nearly everything else, besides!
Poor Manuel starts out life as a lowly swineherd, but rises to become the famous Dom Manuel, the legendary, even mythic, hero of many of Cabells novels. He begins, like the simpleton in "Jack in the Beanstalk" and other folktales, by taking literally his mothers advice to go out and make a figure in the world and makes Figures of clay. But Manuel turns out to be a master of guile, a trickster hero, if you will. His guiding motto is: The world wishes to be deceived.
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Members Reviews:
To be read many times
This is one of his shorter novels, but incredibly rich from beginning to end. I don't consider it inferior to any of his books. Some readers will be completely befuddled by his references to obscure mytholigies, his strange spelling of what turn out to be familiar names, and his use of anagrams. My recomendation is to read it. If the names of gods and queens have no resonance, read them as characters in the novel. Don't waste time looking for Manuel's County on a map. This is a fantasy grounded firmly in a fantatsic view of history and human nature and human mythlogy.
At some point something may click. It's not like a secret being revealed; it's just another layer to the story. One of the central dynamics is the contrast between youth and age. This alone may inspire a re-reading. Some may be put off by Cabell's jaundiced view of humanity, its strivings, and its hypocricies. Others may be put off by the clear immoralty of its characters and its raucous blending of fantasy and history. Don't feel sorry for such people; they cause more misery than they suffer.
Brace Yourself for Wonder
Absolutely a must eat relevant to ur times. A superb word smith creation.
well done
This reading like that of Jurgen was exceptionally well done. Both of these I would categorize as remarkable nonsense of the most useful nature.
Crazy
great story, my personal favorite of Cabell, of course I have not read it all.
