This frame sequence accretes layer upon layer of narrative upon itself. This is a work on par with the likes of Giovanni Boccaccio’s The Decameron, Antoine Galland’s translation/adaptation of One Thousand and One Nights, and Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.Īn overarching metanarrative, contained within it, a legion of smaller stories. Potocki’s opus stands directly on the shoulders of such literary giants that were constructing such frame narratives well before the Nineteenth Century. The Manuscript Found in Saragossa follows in the time-honored tradition that spans the breadth of world literature through the course of history, that of the frame narrative. A work that at its heart, combines aspects of the philosophic, gothic, adventure and arabesque, into an exhilarating piece of weird fiction or as the nameless French officer states “It was all about brigands, ghosts and cabalists nothing could be more suitable to divert my mind from the rigors of the campaign than to read a novel full of strange adventures. A book that mirrors a life remarkably lived. The Manuscript is unabashedly informed by Potocki’s myriad interests, concerns, and travels in essence a fictional mélange of his life’s enthusiasm. His steadfast curiosity and thirst for new and novel experiences certainly imbued his writings, especially with regards to his fiction. A sprawling entertainment that touches upon a wide variety of genres. The Manuscript Found in Saragossa is Potocki’s contribution to the world of literature and much like his life, it contains multitudes. In addition to all of these lifetime accomplishments, this Saint Germain like adventurer also wrote a novel. There are varying accounts of the tale but story goes that this polymath crafted a silver bullet from the knob of his teapot (or the handle of a sugar bowl), had it blessed by the castle chaplain, retreated to his library and shot himself in the head. Even the matter of his death was a (dark) reflection of his grandiose life. This was a man who exemplified the Age of Reason paradigm of all knowledge is worth knowing. Judging by the milestones that he achieved throughout his lifetime, it is plain to see that Potocki was a restless individual. During his sweeping and storied life, Potocki amassed a larger than life CV, which included being one of the first aeronauts, a novice Knight of Malta, an army officer engineer, a political activist (to a variety of causes), an ethnographical researcher, a publisher and a supposed freemason. This Polish noble was a mover and a shaker on the European stage during the late Enlightenment era. Count Jan Potocki seems like he stepped out of a grand piece of adventure fiction.
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