By the time of his death at the age of 101, the German author and veteran soldier Ernst Jünger had written enough to fill eighteen volumes with his collected works. The most famous of these remains Storm of Steel, Jünger’s account of his experiences during the First World War. Less well known, though no less relevant in our age of growing tyranny, is Jünger’s early novel, On the Marble Cliffs, a new translation of which has recently been published by the NYRB.
Set in a quasi-historical Europe, On the Marble Cliffs tells the story of two war-weary brothers who have taken up residence in the Grand Marina, an idyllic Mediterranean country. From their stately retreat carved out of the steep cliffs overlooking the Marina, the brothers spend their days cataloging the native flora collected in their herbarium.
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