''Eumeswil'' is a 1977 novel by the German author

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

. The narrative is set in an undatable post-apocalyptic world, somewhere in present-day Morocco. It follows the inner and outer life of Manuel Venator, a historian in the city-state of Eumeswil who also holds a part-time job in the night bar of Eumeswil's ruling tyrant, the Condor. The book was published in English in 1993, translated by

Joachim Neugroschel Joachim Neugroschel (13 January 1938—23 May 2011) was a multilingual literary translator of French, German, Italian, Russian, and Yiddish. He was also an art critic, editor, and publisher. Early life and education Joachim Neugroschel was ...

Themes

The key theme in the novel is the figure of the Anarch, the inwardly-free individual who lives quietly and dispassionately within but not of society and the world. The Anarch is a metaphysical ideal figure of a

sovereign individual Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...

, conceived by Jünger. Jünger was greatly influenced by

egoist Egoism is a philosophy concerned with the role of the self, or , as the motivation and goal of one's own action. Different theories of egoism encompass a range of disparate ideas and can generally be categorized into descriptive or normative ...

thinker

Max Stirner Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen a ...

. Indeed, the Anarch starts out from Stirner's conception of the unique (''der Einzige''), a man who forms a bond around something concrete rather than ideal, but it is then developed in subtle but critical ways beyond Stirner's concept.

Reception

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' reviewed the book in 1994: "In this acute if labyrinthine study of a compromised individual, üngertelescopes past and present, playing over the sweep of Western history and culture with a dazzling range of allusions from

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

and

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, displaying his erudition but failing to ignite the reader's engaged interest."Publishers Weekly Review 1994-05-09 http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-941419-97-0

References

External links

English Language copy of the book

Blog discussing and exploring Jünger's anarch through excerpts from Eumeswil

Association Eumeswil, a Florentine cultural association dedicated to the study of Ernst Jünger's life and works.
* 1977 science fiction novels 1977 German novels German science fiction novels German-language novels Novels by Ernst Jünger Novels set in Morocco Post-apocalyptic novels Novels about time travel {{1970s-sf-novel-stub