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Holbergs hovedværker #16
Niels Klims underjordiske rejse
Fantastic adventures at the center of the earth await a penniless Norwegian student after he plunges into a bottomless hole in a cave. Niels Klim discovers worlds within our own--exotic civilizations and fabulous creatures scattered across the underside of the earth's crust and, at the earth's center, a small, inhabited planet orbiting around a miniature sun. In an epic journey, Klim visits countries led by sentient and contemplative trees, a kingdom of intelligent apes preoccupied with fashion and change, a land whose inhabitants don't speak out of their mouths, neighboring countries of birds locked in an eternal war, and a land where string basses talk musically to one another. Brave, inquisitive, and greedy, Klim faces many challenges, the greatest of which are his own temptations.
The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground is a classic in speculative fiction and was the first fully realized novel set underground in a hollow earth. First published in 1741, it has earned comparisons to Jonathan Swift's contemporaneous fantasy, Gulliver's Travels.
The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground is a classic in speculative fiction and was the first fully realized novel set underground in a hollow earth. First published in 1741, it has earned comparisons to Jonathan Swift's contemporaneous fantasy, Gulliver's Travels.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1741
35 people are currently reading
936 people want to read
About the author
Ludvig Holberg
626 books39 followersLudvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg, a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque. Holberg is considered the founder of modern Danish and Norwegian literature and is best known for the comedies he wrote in 1722–1723 for the theatre in Lille Grønnegade in Copenhagen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 13, 2017
I must admit that the three star rating is simply due to the fact that today’s author’s stand on the shoulders of literary giants, who have already shown that balancing narrative with imagery and dialogue makes a story that pulls readers in. My modern expectations interpret this antique tale as dry. I actually sought out and read this story because my next novel is inspired by Holberg’s mind baby, Hollow Earth. I prefer to imagine it as a series of tunnels and caverns illuminated by bioluminescent flora, but the planet within planet inner world Holberg presents is creative. Read up on my progress and my protag’s blog at LARC-SciFi(dot)com/lettersaboutrealconspiracies.html or join my mail list at the bottom of the page to keep up on my latest book reviews.
Our hero, Niels Klim falls into a cavern while exploring and ends up on another planet nestled within our own hollow one. He meets tree people who don’t believe in religion and let both genders participate in government. This idea was likely progressive for 1741, the books original publication date. Klim fights the power and launches a recurring theme of sexism. One of the main plot drivers is a recurrence of women throwing themselves at Klim. Talking trees I can buy. A land where women are desperate for the love of an alien stranger? Not so sure, especially when he’s out to dash their civil rights.
He encounters another land of talking animals where they practice the caste system. It’s quite apparent (to me anyhow) that Holberg was using fantasy settings to make social commentary without fear of judgement. I thought the old Planet of the Apes movies were great for that. I now wonder if the author drew his inspiration from this work.
As a hero, Klim has incredible highs and evil lows. It made me wonder if we were even meant to like the character. Personally, I found his fickle ethics despicable. When you consider the heavy delivery of narrative, I wonder if the story was actually meant to be received like it were the rambling nonsense of the town’s crazy guy.
All things considered, this story would likely have received at four or five if I were a part of Holberg’s culture and era. It’s still worth reading. The setting and characters are so creative, they’ve inspired conspiracy theorists and fiction writers for nearly three hundred years!
Our hero, Niels Klim falls into a cavern while exploring and ends up on another planet nestled within our own hollow one. He meets tree people who don’t believe in religion and let both genders participate in government. This idea was likely progressive for 1741, the books original publication date. Klim fights the power and launches a recurring theme of sexism. One of the main plot drivers is a recurrence of women throwing themselves at Klim. Talking trees I can buy. A land where women are desperate for the love of an alien stranger? Not so sure, especially when he’s out to dash their civil rights.
He encounters another land of talking animals where they practice the caste system. It’s quite apparent (to me anyhow) that Holberg was using fantasy settings to make social commentary without fear of judgement. I thought the old Planet of the Apes movies were great for that. I now wonder if the author drew his inspiration from this work.
As a hero, Klim has incredible highs and evil lows. It made me wonder if we were even meant to like the character. Personally, I found his fickle ethics despicable. When you consider the heavy delivery of narrative, I wonder if the story was actually meant to be received like it were the rambling nonsense of the town’s crazy guy.
All things considered, this story would likely have received at four or five if I were a part of Holberg’s culture and era. It’s still worth reading. The setting and characters are so creative, they’ve inspired conspiracy theorists and fiction writers for nearly three hundred years!
October 8, 2017
A hollow earth version of Gulliver's Travels, written by one of Denmark's greatest writers.
I read the Gierlow translation, which I quite liked. It was very readable, and he handled the changes in tone well. Gierlow achieved Holberg's intent of creating the feel of a book written by multiple characters instead of a single author. However, I think Gierlow used the word "vomit" when the word "epicac" would be more correct, and the word "firmament" when "moon" would have been more clear. Also, the intermittent passages of verse were awkward. I couldn't tell why they were there. They read like parodies of The Poetic Edda, but I can't be sure that was the intent.
Some of my favorite bits:
* The narrator is obviously a jerk, whose goal in every society is to exploit it and take over.
* The barber jokes- apparently barbers have always been chatty!
* The butt people, who "speak out of that which points south when their noses point north."
* The people with seven heads, who have too many ideas at once.
* Really, all the various societies are great fun.
I read the Gierlow translation, which I quite liked. It was very readable, and he handled the changes in tone well. Gierlow achieved Holberg's intent of creating the feel of a book written by multiple characters instead of a single author. However, I think Gierlow used the word "vomit" when the word "epicac" would be more correct, and the word "firmament" when "moon" would have been more clear. Also, the intermittent passages of verse were awkward. I couldn't tell why they were there. They read like parodies of The Poetic Edda, but I can't be sure that was the intent.
Some of my favorite bits:
* The narrator is obviously a jerk, whose goal in every society is to exploit it and take over.
* The barber jokes- apparently barbers have always been chatty!
* The butt people, who "speak out of that which points south when their noses point north."
* The people with seven heads, who have too many ideas at once.
* Really, all the various societies are great fun.
January 17, 2022
Mesmerizing how Holberg writes against the way the society was built in the 17th centaury. He gives the word utopia a new meaning, and a society much like every body want to live in with equality between genders and no one having to much power.
February 19, 2018
Denmark in the 18th century being a rather small country, the Danish people relied on a single genius, Ludvig Holberg, to be their one-man Enlightment. So Holberg was the author of important treatises on law, comedies and poems that revolutionized Danish as a literary language, revolutionary scientific publications, and generally exuding agnostic humanism from every pore. Of course, every enlightened nation needs to have its own Voltaire or Jonathan Swift, a producer of shortish novels that blend satire, fantasy, science, and philosophical flapdoodle, so one day in the 1740s Holberg sat down and wrote his own
Gulliver's Travels
philosophical comedy.
In Niels Klim's Journey Under the Ground, the Earth as we know it is hollow and home to at least two planets which seem to orbit around each other, and even manage to eclipse each other using the sunlight that somehow exists here--Holberg is vague here. OurGulliver protagonist is young Niels Klim, a young university graduate who falls into a hole during a geological expedition, discovers that the Earth is hollow, and spends ten years among the cultures living there. Holberg's comic shtick is easy to spot: most of the societies exist in order to soberly inform Klim of their values, like gender equality, the separation of church and state, meritocratic employment, and liberal tolerance for others, and Klim exists in order to scoff at their barbarity and propound the superiority of superstitious, fractious, violent ol' Europe. Also, all the people are trees, and a pig-lady writes erotic love letters to Klim. There's a lot of poetry.
Gulliver is the easy point of comparison here, but Holberg's gentle humanism is a very different beast than Swift's profoundly fucked-up contempt for humanity (as Orwell said while pointing out the logical contradictions of the Yahoos, Swift's criticisms amounts to pointing at us and shouting "You are dirtier than you are!"). You can see the difference in disposition by how the tales end, with Gulliver going quite insane just for trying to live among humans, while Klim returns to the surface and gets to be a friendly village parson after his career as a subterranean warlord. Still, for all his bile, Swift is just a better writer; his jokes are better, his descriptions are sharper, his plots are better arranged, his made-up words more memorable (remember, this mad Irishman gave us lilliputian and yahoo).
But there's plenty to like in Holberg, too. Besides a bit of king-worship and a fondness for liberal monarchy, Holberg's political philosophy is amiable, and his views on women (i.e., they're people) from the 1740s are still radical in much of the Western world. If this is how Danes were already talking three centuries ago, the Danish liberal welfare state makes a lot more sense now. And there's a book-within-a-book called "Tanian's Travels Above-Ground: Being a Description of the Kingdoms and Countries There, Especially Those of Europe," which is exactly what it sounds like and a delightful satire by itself. If you love yourself some Enlightenment literature, you can spare two hours to read this.
In Niels Klim's Journey Under the Ground, the Earth as we know it is hollow and home to at least two planets which seem to orbit around each other, and even manage to eclipse each other using the sunlight that somehow exists here--Holberg is vague here. Our
Gulliver is the easy point of comparison here, but Holberg's gentle humanism is a very different beast than Swift's profoundly fucked-up contempt for humanity (as Orwell said while pointing out the logical contradictions of the Yahoos, Swift's criticisms amounts to pointing at us and shouting "You are dirtier than you are!"). You can see the difference in disposition by how the tales end, with Gulliver going quite insane just for trying to live among humans, while Klim returns to the surface and gets to be a friendly village parson after his career as a subterranean warlord. Still, for all his bile, Swift is just a better writer; his jokes are better, his descriptions are sharper, his plots are better arranged, his made-up words more memorable (remember, this mad Irishman gave us lilliputian and yahoo).
But there's plenty to like in Holberg, too. Besides a bit of king-worship and a fondness for liberal monarchy, Holberg's political philosophy is amiable, and his views on women (i.e., they're people) from the 1740s are still radical in much of the Western world. If this is how Danes were already talking three centuries ago, the Danish liberal welfare state makes a lot more sense now. And there's a book-within-a-book called "Tanian's Travels Above-Ground: Being a Description of the Kingdoms and Countries There, Especially Those of Europe," which is exactly what it sounds like and a delightful satire by itself. If you love yourself some Enlightenment literature, you can spare two hours to read this.
August 5, 2013
An imagination run amok produces a readable, though hardly compelling, adventure story, which is really an unfocused satire on contemporary religion, politics, and lifestyle. That said, they don’t write ‘em like this anymore, where the plot is based on a wanton disregard for logic and science (even the sleepy, one-eye open kind of science of the 18th century). It must be admitted that in some areas Holberg anticipates both Tolkien and Pierre Boulle, but in the good baron’s hands the concepts of sentient trees and reasoning beasts (including monkeys) never attain believability (especially when one of the trees takes a hankering for our hero). Indeed, the entire novel is a head-shaking exercise in reining in one’s disbelief. Yet it is not dry – there are humorous incidents, the occasional thought-provoking moment, and times of genuine surprise: his view on women’s rights may be interpreted as progressive. But satire and the ridiculous aside, the book is a stepping-stone in the history of sci-fi/fantasy literature, and if read for that reason, or for simple amusement, then Klim’s fantastic journey should not fail to please.
January 30, 2019
I may have to revisit this one day. Lots of interesting ideas, but a bit dry compared to the more modern novels I’m used to reading. I see a lot of similar elements between this and books like Gulliver’s Travels and A Voyage to Arcturus; the use of fantastical and otherworldly elements for the purposes of holding a mirror up to humanity, and using bigger-than-life settings to make subtle and sophisticated sociopolitical commentary. In all of these stories we meet a lone man who embarks on an imaginative journey through strange lands, encountering moral dilemmas, ethical quandaries, and various mental challenges along the way. In the end the man is more changed by the world than it could ever be changed by him, and his faith in the unshakable truth of his worldview is altered, if not outright destroyed.
May 21, 2012
This book is awesome!!! It's not really new for those who read Gulliver's Travels, since it's quite the Scandinavian point of view on the subject: satirical description and views about society, religion and other important matters at that time. In fact the author had also some problems with the king during his life and publication because of his really sharp humor about society. Moreover, it's really good and full of fantasy stuff.
July 31, 2024
Bra til å være fra 1741. Bonus for feministiske tanker, for at Potu er et klasseløst samfunn og for at det er et ideal å være treig.
April 11, 2024
Utdrag fra min anmeldelse av boken for Nye NOVA:
https://www.nyenova.no/nicolai-leser-...
"Niels Klims reise til den underjordiske verden» av Ludvig Holberg er kroneksempelet på et (veslevoksent) kjært barn som har mange navn. Den kan kalles en politisk satire, parodi, reiseroman, fantasy, forløper til den moderne science fiction-romanen, utopisk OG dystopisk roman, en moralfilosofisk fabel og til slutt en ren og skjær klassiker.
(...)
Kort oppsummert handler den om en nylig uteksaminert student fra universitetet. Hans store lidenskap er naturvitenskap, og en dag oppdager han en hule utenfor byen. Når han utforsker den grundigere, faller han ved et uhell ned i et hull til en planet i jordas indre – Nazar - og staten Potu. Innbyggerne der er intelligente, menneskelignende trær. I løpet av boken får han også kontakt med alskens ikke-menneskelige skapninger og kulturer, og ikke minst skjer det mange forunderlige ting underveis. Boken kan altså leses som en reiseskildring om Klims opplevelser på Nazar.
(...)
Sånn sett evner Holberg å stimulere nysgjerrigheten min og engasjere meg rent intellektuelt, og dette er for meg et av kriteriene for litterær kvalitet. Teksten sitrer av stimulerende spørrekraft som utvider bevisstheten og forstanden, og hver observasjon og problemstilling akkumulerer, slik at det skaper erkjennelser. Det er verdt å poengtere at det å lære om et fantasiland som Potu ikke er uten en annen velkjent nytteverdi; et samfunnskritisk blikk på Potus kultur og styreformer er et samfunnskritisk blikk på vår egen kultur og våre styreformer.
(...)
Avslutningsvis vil jeg si at selv om du skulle bli demotivert av noe som kan kalles en spenningsløs, påtatt fabel med gjennomanalysert samfunnskritikk, så anbefaler jeg boken på det sterkeste. Den er spennende, uforutsigbar, dypsindig, dramatisk, spøkefull, provoserende og poetisk. Herlig! Storartet! Det knaker jo så godt i hjernebarken av kulturelle og filosofiske tankesprell. Det kiler jo så meget i hjerteroten av komiske refleksjoner om livet. Og det blir jo så varmt i sjelen av undring og nysgjerrighet.
Ikke sant?"
https://www.nyenova.no/nicolai-leser-...
"Niels Klims reise til den underjordiske verden» av Ludvig Holberg er kroneksempelet på et (veslevoksent) kjært barn som har mange navn. Den kan kalles en politisk satire, parodi, reiseroman, fantasy, forløper til den moderne science fiction-romanen, utopisk OG dystopisk roman, en moralfilosofisk fabel og til slutt en ren og skjær klassiker.
(...)
Kort oppsummert handler den om en nylig uteksaminert student fra universitetet. Hans store lidenskap er naturvitenskap, og en dag oppdager han en hule utenfor byen. Når han utforsker den grundigere, faller han ved et uhell ned i et hull til en planet i jordas indre – Nazar - og staten Potu. Innbyggerne der er intelligente, menneskelignende trær. I løpet av boken får han også kontakt med alskens ikke-menneskelige skapninger og kulturer, og ikke minst skjer det mange forunderlige ting underveis. Boken kan altså leses som en reiseskildring om Klims opplevelser på Nazar.
(...)
Sånn sett evner Holberg å stimulere nysgjerrigheten min og engasjere meg rent intellektuelt, og dette er for meg et av kriteriene for litterær kvalitet. Teksten sitrer av stimulerende spørrekraft som utvider bevisstheten og forstanden, og hver observasjon og problemstilling akkumulerer, slik at det skaper erkjennelser. Det er verdt å poengtere at det å lære om et fantasiland som Potu ikke er uten en annen velkjent nytteverdi; et samfunnskritisk blikk på Potus kultur og styreformer er et samfunnskritisk blikk på vår egen kultur og våre styreformer.
(...)
Avslutningsvis vil jeg si at selv om du skulle bli demotivert av noe som kan kalles en spenningsløs, påtatt fabel med gjennomanalysert samfunnskritikk, så anbefaler jeg boken på det sterkeste. Den er spennende, uforutsigbar, dypsindig, dramatisk, spøkefull, provoserende og poetisk. Herlig! Storartet! Det knaker jo så godt i hjernebarken av kulturelle og filosofiske tankesprell. Det kiler jo så meget i hjerteroten av komiske refleksjoner om livet. Og det blir jo så varmt i sjelen av undring og nysgjerrighet.
Ikke sant?"
April 1, 2008
A very entertaining fictional travelogue written in the first half of the 18th century by Norwegian writer Ludvig Holberg, in Latin. This is a modern Norwegian translation.
Nicholas Klim falls through a hole in the Earth and ends up on the other side, because the world is revealed to be hollow. The underworld has many different states, peoples, policies, and morals, and Klim has his own thoughts on all of the cultural differences and alternatives.
Klim is a representative of his time, and the author often seems to be ahead of that time in ethical and political matters. Particularly entertaining are the cultural descriptions of the underworldly peoples, and especially the typification by one of the underworlders of our own Europe!
A very nice example of early imaginative fiction, and interesting to lovers of cultural criticism and fantasy alike.
Nicholas Klim falls through a hole in the Earth and ends up on the other side, because the world is revealed to be hollow. The underworld has many different states, peoples, policies, and morals, and Klim has his own thoughts on all of the cultural differences and alternatives.
Klim is a representative of his time, and the author often seems to be ahead of that time in ethical and political matters. Particularly entertaining are the cultural descriptions of the underworldly peoples, and especially the typification by one of the underworlders of our own Europe!
A very nice example of early imaginative fiction, and interesting to lovers of cultural criticism and fantasy alike.
May 1, 2020
Utópisztikus és kevésbé utópisztikus elképzelt világok egy majd háromszáz éves kalandregény-szatírában, amely máig sem vesztette el aktualitását. Gulliver-fanfiction, okos növények és kevésbé okos állatok igen változatos civilizációival, korabeli humorral, a korabeli Mekk Elek szemszögéből. A nyelvezetét szokni kell, de jól elvoltam vele, és hasznosnak is találtam.
Részletes értékelés a blogon:
https://gyujtogeto-alkoto.blog.hu/202...
Részletes értékelés a blogon:
https://gyujtogeto-alkoto.blog.hu/202...
September 1, 2015
This is ultimately my favorite book. It's basically a Norwegian Odyssey, featuring a hero who morphs into a sort of antihero by nearly the end, only to be restored to his original state. His adventures and the societies he encounters are fascinating. An absolute must-read if you like adventure and the Odyssey.
November 30, 2019
Amazing story, Maybe One of the first real fantasy novels ever.. Niels Klim travels to the underworld and Meet different nations..
January 29, 2020
Such comedy
June 28, 2024
Gøy. Så hatbar han Nils
September 28, 2020
Ugh, I mean I finished it. That's gotta count for something right?
Read
June 30, 2020This John Gierlow translation (1845) is abridged and the text censored to be less objectionable. Gierlow writes in his introduction "Greater liberties were allowed at that period in literature than would now be permitted. Holberg's humorous productions are not wholly free from a fault, whose existence the taste of any age may explain, but does not excuse."
A complete English translation (published anonymously in 1742, a year after Holberg's original Latin version was released in Germany) is available in an edition edited and introduced by James McNelis. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
From Danish writer Ludvig Holberg's autobiography, quoted in Gierlow's introduction: "There are many persons of both sexes in my country, who believe in fairies and supernatural beings, and who are ready to swear, that they have been conveyed by spirits to hills and mountain caves. This superstition is ridiculed in Klim, the hero of the tale. He is supposed to be transported to the world underground, where he meets with some surprising adventures. Many strange creatures inhabit this new world; trees, for instance, are introduced, endowed with speech, and musical instruments discuss questions of philosophy and finance. Amongst the characters, those geniuses, who perceive everything at a glance, but penetrate nothing, are conspicuous. People of quick perception, whom we use to admire, are despised by the Potuans, who look upon them as idle loungers, that, though always moving, make no progress. Prudent men, on the contrary, who measure their own strength, and advance cautiously, are greatly esteemed by that nation, though with us they pass for fools or cowards. ... to Klim, who measures virtues and vices by the ordinary standard, everything is a paradox, but what he at first condemns, he admires and extols after deliberation; so that the object of the whole work is to correct popular errors, and to distinguish the semblance of virtue and vice from the reality. Its subordinate design is to expose the monstrous fictions, which some authors obtrude upon us in their descriptions of remote countries."
A complete English translation (published anonymously in 1742, a year after Holberg's original Latin version was released in Germany) is available in an edition edited and introduced by James McNelis. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
From Danish writer Ludvig Holberg's autobiography, quoted in Gierlow's introduction: "There are many persons of both sexes in my country, who believe in fairies and supernatural beings, and who are ready to swear, that they have been conveyed by spirits to hills and mountain caves. This superstition is ridiculed in Klim, the hero of the tale. He is supposed to be transported to the world underground, where he meets with some surprising adventures. Many strange creatures inhabit this new world; trees, for instance, are introduced, endowed with speech, and musical instruments discuss questions of philosophy and finance. Amongst the characters, those geniuses, who perceive everything at a glance, but penetrate nothing, are conspicuous. People of quick perception, whom we use to admire, are despised by the Potuans, who look upon them as idle loungers, that, though always moving, make no progress. Prudent men, on the contrary, who measure their own strength, and advance cautiously, are greatly esteemed by that nation, though with us they pass for fools or cowards. ... to Klim, who measures virtues and vices by the ordinary standard, everything is a paradox, but what he at first condemns, he admires and extols after deliberation; so that the object of the whole work is to correct popular errors, and to distinguish the semblance of virtue and vice from the reality. Its subordinate design is to expose the monstrous fictions, which some authors obtrude upon us in their descriptions of remote countries."
November 20, 2011
What was it that Mark Twain called the Book of Mormon? "Chloroform in print"? Well, that wouldn't apply to this book, because chloroform can sometimes produce pleasant sensations. “Niels Klim” has been called the first novel with any literary merit about the Hollow Earth and is also sometimes called the Danish “Gulliver's Travels.” Well, listen: I've read Jonathan Swift, I've enjoyed Jonathan Swift, and, Ludvig Holberg, you're no Jonathan Swift. In fact, as hollow-earth fiction goes, this actually ranks below Edward Bulwer-Lytton's “The Coming Race.”
For one thing, it's supposed to be satirical, but if it is, then it is some esoteric, understated, very culturally specific Danish type of satire that is not, you know, um, funny or anything. There is not much of a plot, but instead the explorer protagonist moves through a variety of countries in the interior of the earth, many of them being rather turgid expansions on different social or political ideas. Most of his time is spent in the company of a civilization of sentient trees, and an extraordinary amount of time is taken up with long descriptions of their political system. And I don't mean interesting things like coronation ceremonies or battles. I mean things like how modifications to the housing allocation system are referred from one subcommittee to the other. It's sort of like Plato's “Republic,” but as though written by one of the drab bureaucrats from David Foster Wallace's “Pale King.”
However, I think I have finally found the literary inspiration for that episode of the “Super Friends” Saturday morning cartoon in which Doug and Wendy find a secret passage to a subterranean world with walking trees, run by an eccentric aged couple named Maxie and Minnie. So that mystery, at least, has been solved. See, reading this was not a total waste.
For one thing, it's supposed to be satirical, but if it is, then it is some esoteric, understated, very culturally specific Danish type of satire that is not, you know, um, funny or anything. There is not much of a plot, but instead the explorer protagonist moves through a variety of countries in the interior of the earth, many of them being rather turgid expansions on different social or political ideas. Most of his time is spent in the company of a civilization of sentient trees, and an extraordinary amount of time is taken up with long descriptions of their political system. And I don't mean interesting things like coronation ceremonies or battles. I mean things like how modifications to the housing allocation system are referred from one subcommittee to the other. It's sort of like Plato's “Republic,” but as though written by one of the drab bureaucrats from David Foster Wallace's “Pale King.”
However, I think I have finally found the literary inspiration for that episode of the “Super Friends” Saturday morning cartoon in which Doug and Wendy find a secret passage to a subterranean world with walking trees, run by an eccentric aged couple named Maxie and Minnie. So that mystery, at least, has been solved. See, reading this was not a total waste.
January 26, 2018
The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground is one the earliest precursors to the social-satire/sci-fi-adventure genre, including books like Gulliver's Travels and Kappa, by Akutagawa. The book presents an allegory concerning society and how it functions. The protagonist stumbles upon a utopia and describes the minutia of everyday life, thereby giving the author a means to convey his criticisms of contemporary society.
Though there are a number of interesting ideas presented, all of which are fundamentally based on a reversal of values and an emphasis on improvement instead of removement, I feel these concepts sculpt an antiquated era of civilization, made obsolete through countless reform. Whereas Gulliver's Travels is still and always will be universal and relevant since its ideas gravitate around human nature, The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground examines social structure more than man himself, and is consequentially outdated.
Neither is its plot any more exciting. Its narrative is very dry and it reads like an essay.
It's also worth noting that Holberg's visions of utopia rely too much on laws to shape man's behavior. It presents an extremely pessimistic outlook of mankind, where morality follows legislation and people only act kindly to one another if compelled to by law. It's not hard to see where this attitude is coming from, the crisis of the 30 Year's War likely being still fresh in the minds of the Danish populace during the time of this book's publication, though nevertheless, I could not avoid feeling disjointed reading it.
However influential it may be, it's not hard to see how most of the world has forgotten about it. It provides a unique look at Scandinavian society in the 17th century, but is also bland and verbose.
Though there are a number of interesting ideas presented, all of which are fundamentally based on a reversal of values and an emphasis on improvement instead of removement, I feel these concepts sculpt an antiquated era of civilization, made obsolete through countless reform. Whereas Gulliver's Travels is still and always will be universal and relevant since its ideas gravitate around human nature, The Journey of Niels Klim to the World Underground examines social structure more than man himself, and is consequentially outdated.
Neither is its plot any more exciting. Its narrative is very dry and it reads like an essay.
It's also worth noting that Holberg's visions of utopia rely too much on laws to shape man's behavior. It presents an extremely pessimistic outlook of mankind, where morality follows legislation and people only act kindly to one another if compelled to by law. It's not hard to see where this attitude is coming from, the crisis of the 30 Year's War likely being still fresh in the minds of the Danish populace during the time of this book's publication, though nevertheless, I could not avoid feeling disjointed reading it.
However influential it may be, it's not hard to see how most of the world has forgotten about it. It provides a unique look at Scandinavian society in the 17th century, but is also bland and verbose.
November 24, 2012
Surprisingly readable story in the vein of Gulliver's Travels, but the social commentary feels unfocused and the book lags at the end.
Niels decides to explore a deep cave one day. However to his shock when he tumbles down a chasm, he finds himself suddenly in a new sky, orbiting a tiny planet at the earth's core. After a crash landing, he finds himself in a land of sentient trees, but he gets demoted to mail runner quickly. Thus begins a really weird travelogue in a land where monkeys rule continents and everything is screwed up.
It's surprisingly readable for an older, translated book, and there are some funny parts. There's like thirty of forty different countries on this tiny earth, and each have some failing or flaw. However there's really no unifying theme, and the novel ends up being "Oh, look, here's another weird race that manifests some flaw that we wont go much into." You don't get the sense of most utopias where they specifically focus on their own society as opposed to a random grab-bag of observations. Niels isn't that likable either; he's desperate to be taken seriously, and he does some pretty unsavory things at times. There's a glaring error in that the book is set at around 1670, yet a European knows a bit about saltpeter and how to make muskets; information that I'm not sure is all that common at the time. It doesn't feel like Niels is from that time at all.
So not bad for free, but it's understandable why it's languished in obscurity.
Niels decides to explore a deep cave one day. However to his shock when he tumbles down a chasm, he finds himself suddenly in a new sky, orbiting a tiny planet at the earth's core. After a crash landing, he finds himself in a land of sentient trees, but he gets demoted to mail runner quickly. Thus begins a really weird travelogue in a land where monkeys rule continents and everything is screwed up.
It's surprisingly readable for an older, translated book, and there are some funny parts. There's like thirty of forty different countries on this tiny earth, and each have some failing or flaw. However there's really no unifying theme, and the novel ends up being "Oh, look, here's another weird race that manifests some flaw that we wont go much into." You don't get the sense of most utopias where they specifically focus on their own society as opposed to a random grab-bag of observations. Niels isn't that likable either; he's desperate to be taken seriously, and he does some pretty unsavory things at times. There's a glaring error in that the book is set at around 1670, yet a European knows a bit about saltpeter and how to make muskets; information that I'm not sure is all that common at the time. It doesn't feel like Niels is from that time at all.
So not bad for free, but it's understandable why it's languished in obscurity.
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October 8, 2017A hollow earth version of Gulliver's Travels, written by one of Denmark's greatest writers.
I read the Gierlow translation, which I quite liked. It was very readable, and he handled the changes in tone well. Gierlow achieved Holberg's intent of creating the feel of a book written by multiple characters instead of a single author. However, I think Gierlow used the word "vomit" when the word "epicac" would be more correct, and the word "firmament" when "moon" would have been more clear. Also, the intermittent passages of verse were awkward. I couldn't tell why they were there. They read like parodies of The Poetic Edda, but I can't be sure that was the intent.
Some of my favorite bits:
* The narrator is obviously a jerk, whose goal in every society is to exploit it and take over.
* The barber jokes- apparently barbers have always been chatty!
* The butt people, who "speak out of that which points south when their noses point north."
* The people with seven heads, who have too many ideas at once.
* Really, all the various societies are great fun.
I read the Gierlow translation, which I quite liked. It was very readable, and he handled the changes in tone well. Gierlow achieved Holberg's intent of creating the feel of a book written by multiple characters instead of a single author. However, I think Gierlow used the word "vomit" when the word "epicac" would be more correct, and the word "firmament" when "moon" would have been more clear. Also, the intermittent passages of verse were awkward. I couldn't tell why they were there. They read like parodies of The Poetic Edda, but I can't be sure that was the intent.
Some of my favorite bits:
* The narrator is obviously a jerk, whose goal in every society is to exploit it and take over.
* The barber jokes- apparently barbers have always been chatty!
* The butt people, who "speak out of that which points south when their noses point north."
* The people with seven heads, who have too many ideas at once.
* Really, all the various societies are great fun.
January 24, 2012
A fun satire about a 17th century explorer who falls down a cave and lands on a planet in the center of the earth. He spends a lot of time amongst talking trees, monkeys, and other fantastic sentient creatures, but as he reveals himself to be misogynistic, idiotic, and bloodthirsty, he finds himself having to flee each place he visits.
August 10, 2020
A brilliant and perceptive book, and although, written ~280 years ago, it shows that nothing substantial has changed in the world. The author's contempt of both atheism and religious orthodoxy is highly commendable. Burn the pope on a pyre of atheists! (only metaphorically, of course)
Note: for quotes see edition with John Gierlow as author.
Note: for quotes see edition with John Gierlow as author.
October 14, 2013
I love the way Holdberg puts all kinds of ideologies up to the extremes, truly showing ideology balance. It was really witty and pitch perfect satire. On the other end, the description of the different societies got a little too much for me in the end.
January 9, 2012
A Norwegian student decides to explore a cave and stumbles upon an entire 'center of the earth' civilisation embarking on an epic journey through this underworld...
July 6, 2023
This book first appeared in the year 1741. Author Ludvig Holberg (1684-1754) is the best-known Scandinavian writer, called by some the “father of Danish and Norwegian literature,” and wrote, as well as historical and political works, twenty-eight plays. Klim was written in Latin, and Holberg declared in his Memoirs that he delayed the Danish translation because “many of the moral precepts in this work were of a paradoxical character, which I considered it inexpedient to expose to the judgment of the less instructed portion of the community.” Just two years of college probably puts me in that group, but I still enjoyed the book, which has been published in greater than sixty editions and eleven languages.
This is a true hollow earth adventure, in fact, the very first one. Peter Fitting, the author of Subterranean Worlds: a Critical Anthology (2004 Wesleyan University Press), wrote the preface for the Bison Books edition, and states “While it is not clear where Holberg got the idea, his vision of a hollow globe with an inner earth and sun as well as an inhabited undercrust is far more complete and radical than any of the subterranean adventures of previous fictions.”
In the story, Klim and his buddies climb Mt. Fløyen in Bergen, Norway (an actual mountain) to explore a cave. Klim is lowered into the cavern on a rope which then breaks. He falls for about fifteen minutes and emerges into a subterranean world. He sees a planet and a sun. His fall begins to slow, and then he finds himself circling the planet, orbiting it like a miniature moon. He gets out his lunch, finds the bread stale, and discards it. The bread pieces begin orbiting him!
After three days of this, a fight with a griffin results in Klim being deposited on the planet’s surface. As soon as Klim lands, he is chased up a tree by a bull. Unfortunately, the tree happens to be the Sheriff’s wife!
This is Klim’s introduction to a race of intelligent and mobile trees. They remind me a little of Tolkien’s Ents of Middle-Earth as they think slowly and are slow to act. They appreciate slow, careful thought. Later, the President of the trees is described as such: she’s a female and a virgin who “is esteemed the wisest tree in all the city; for so great is her dullness of apprehension that she hardly ever conceives a thing without its being three or four times repeated. But what she once apprehends she thoroughly understands, and with such acumen solves every difficulty in it.”
The planet Klim lands on is called Nazar. It’s 200 miles in diameter and about 100 miles from the inner surface of the hollow sphere, or the underside which the trees call the Firmament.
They consider Klim a lower, intelligent life-form because of his quick but incomplete understanding and assign him the role of Royal Messenger due to his fast feet.
For the next 125 pages, Klim visits all the cities of the tree people and encounters every possible ridiculous custom. His observations on their government, court system, schools, and religion make pretty slow reading; no action occurs during this part of the utopian satire.
Klim fails to fit in with the unusual tree society and is banished to the Firmament. He’s placed in a cage and carried there by birds. Here he meets a race of intelligent monkeys and we learn of their culture, in many ways the opposite of that of the tree people. He is falsely accused of “monkeying” around with a nobleman’s wife and is sentenced to life as a galley slave.
As the merchant vessel goes from nation to nation, Klim encounters many strange races: sirens, jackdaws, hopping bass-guitar folk, and mouthless people who speak from their butts (“communication is an unpleasant and malodorous affair”).
This silliness comes to an end with a shipwreck that leaves Klim with a tribe of savages, the first human race he has encountered. His knowledge of advanced weapons allows him to build an empire among the primitives. The story finishes with Klim falling into another hole that deposits him on the Earth’s surface in the very same mountains that this all started from.
This is a true hollow earth adventure, in fact, the very first one. Peter Fitting, the author of Subterranean Worlds: a Critical Anthology (2004 Wesleyan University Press), wrote the preface for the Bison Books edition, and states “While it is not clear where Holberg got the idea, his vision of a hollow globe with an inner earth and sun as well as an inhabited undercrust is far more complete and radical than any of the subterranean adventures of previous fictions.”
In the story, Klim and his buddies climb Mt. Fløyen in Bergen, Norway (an actual mountain) to explore a cave. Klim is lowered into the cavern on a rope which then breaks. He falls for about fifteen minutes and emerges into a subterranean world. He sees a planet and a sun. His fall begins to slow, and then he finds himself circling the planet, orbiting it like a miniature moon. He gets out his lunch, finds the bread stale, and discards it. The bread pieces begin orbiting him!
After three days of this, a fight with a griffin results in Klim being deposited on the planet’s surface. As soon as Klim lands, he is chased up a tree by a bull. Unfortunately, the tree happens to be the Sheriff’s wife!
This is Klim’s introduction to a race of intelligent and mobile trees. They remind me a little of Tolkien’s Ents of Middle-Earth as they think slowly and are slow to act. They appreciate slow, careful thought. Later, the President of the trees is described as such: she’s a female and a virgin who “is esteemed the wisest tree in all the city; for so great is her dullness of apprehension that she hardly ever conceives a thing without its being three or four times repeated. But what she once apprehends she thoroughly understands, and with such acumen solves every difficulty in it.”
The planet Klim lands on is called Nazar. It’s 200 miles in diameter and about 100 miles from the inner surface of the hollow sphere, or the underside which the trees call the Firmament.
They consider Klim a lower, intelligent life-form because of his quick but incomplete understanding and assign him the role of Royal Messenger due to his fast feet.
For the next 125 pages, Klim visits all the cities of the tree people and encounters every possible ridiculous custom. His observations on their government, court system, schools, and religion make pretty slow reading; no action occurs during this part of the utopian satire.
Klim fails to fit in with the unusual tree society and is banished to the Firmament. He’s placed in a cage and carried there by birds. Here he meets a race of intelligent monkeys and we learn of their culture, in many ways the opposite of that of the tree people. He is falsely accused of “monkeying” around with a nobleman’s wife and is sentenced to life as a galley slave.
As the merchant vessel goes from nation to nation, Klim encounters many strange races: sirens, jackdaws, hopping bass-guitar folk, and mouthless people who speak from their butts (“communication is an unpleasant and malodorous affair”).
This silliness comes to an end with a shipwreck that leaves Klim with a tribe of savages, the first human race he has encountered. His knowledge of advanced weapons allows him to build an empire among the primitives. The story finishes with Klim falling into another hole that deposits him on the Earth’s surface in the very same mountains that this all started from.
September 13, 2020
Jeg giver op! Det er for meget at læse et manifest forklædt som roman, som Ludvig Holbergs “Niels Klims Underjordiske Rejse” i mine øjne er, på 450 sider! Efter 250 siders er det simpelthen for forudsigeligt og kedeligt. Bogen går for at være en af Danmarks første romaner, og det er for mig ret tydeligt, at der har manglet en redaktør og et forlag til at stille kloge Ludvig stolen for døren; gør budskabet skarpt, gør det menneskeligt relevant og gør det fængende. Måske er jeg forkælet og dramahungrende, men jeg giver meget sjældent op med en bog, så når jeg gør det her, må der være en grund, og den vil jer forsøge at oprulle nedenfor...
Konceptet er yderst begavet: Ludvig H vil gerne fortælle det danske land og magthaverne sin ærlige og kloge mening, om landets ledelse, kultur og gøren og laden. Desværre er det ikke så velanset at sige sin ærlige mening i tiden før Struensees forsøg på at indføre trykkefrihed, så kunstgrebet med at skrive fortællingen om Niels Klim, der som ung nyuddannet student ryger i et stort hul og lander i landet Potu, der ligger under jorden og er befolket af træer(!), hvor asketen og den klogt reflekterede Holberg kan lade sin pen flyde afsted med alle de sine oplysningstanker om en bedre samfundsorden, mere hensigtsmæssige magtstrukturer, klogere og mere fornuftsbetonede værdier og normer samt større respekt for gerninger og tanker rodfæstet i solid og vidende reflektion, er ret genialt. Han kritiserer ikke de eksisterende magthavere eller den eksisterende samfundsorden, men lader i stedet sin arketype - den unge hovmodige student; i denne fortælling Niels Klim, men det kunne lige så godt have været Erasmus Montanus - nedbryde i mødet med en helt anden verden, der som en kæmpemæssig spejlsal reflekterer alle uhensigtsmæssighederne, begrænsningerne, den manglende dynamik og alle de andre ting, Holberg ønsker at stille skarpt på i tidens samfund. I Potu værdsættes langsomme beslutninger, som bunder i solid reflektion, og som kan tåle en trykprøvning så voldsom, at hvis du vil foreslå en samfundsordensændring, skal du være parat til at modtage en streng straf (op til dødsstraf), hvis den ikke holder til en grundig granskning, mens du omvendt bliver fejret som en helt, hvis ændringen bliver accepteret og dermed implementeret. Magtstrukturen i Potu er indrettet, så de der nyder størst respekt og har størst indkomst er de værdiskabende folk; håndværkere, bønder osv., mens ledere om embedsmænd har lavere status. Dog er både Gud og næsten også fyrsten uanfægtelige i Potu; Holberg var ikke anarkist eller revolutionær! Niels Klim får hurtigt et ry for at være intelligent, men alt for hurtig (også fysisk i forhold til de langsomt bevægelige træer) og uigennemtænkt, og han må tage til takke med et job som løber, hvilket han er stærkt utilfreds med, da det af ham selv og potuanerne regnes for at lavtstående job. Klim bruger sin adrætte fordel til at tage på en rejse i det underjordiske og udforsker nabolandene, hvor Holberg lader ham møde kulturer, hvor kønsrollerne er vendt totalt på hovedet (i modsætning til den næsten kætteriske tanke om ligestilling, der allerede er et faktum i Potu); hvor alle er akademikere, hvilket har givet et samfund i totalt fysisk forfald, da ingen får sig taget sammen til noget som helst; hvor alle er fornuftige, hvilket giver et kedeligt og uinspirerende samfund uden liv og glæde; hvor børn og unge er de fornuftige og overvejede, mens de ældre er de legesyge og fjollede osv.
Det er altsammen overraskende relevant også for samfundet i dag og med til at forme en metapointe om afbalancering og mådehold, men det bliver bare keeeeeedeligt at læse som en fortælling. Derfor giver jeg op, men efterlader alligevel to stjerner for den tindrende begavelse, der ligger bag Niels Klims Underjordiske Rejse. Må bogen blive læst af mere forstandige og tålmodige folk end mig!
Konceptet er yderst begavet: Ludvig H vil gerne fortælle det danske land og magthaverne sin ærlige og kloge mening, om landets ledelse, kultur og gøren og laden. Desværre er det ikke så velanset at sige sin ærlige mening i tiden før Struensees forsøg på at indføre trykkefrihed, så kunstgrebet med at skrive fortællingen om Niels Klim, der som ung nyuddannet student ryger i et stort hul og lander i landet Potu, der ligger under jorden og er befolket af træer(!), hvor asketen og den klogt reflekterede Holberg kan lade sin pen flyde afsted med alle de sine oplysningstanker om en bedre samfundsorden, mere hensigtsmæssige magtstrukturer, klogere og mere fornuftsbetonede værdier og normer samt større respekt for gerninger og tanker rodfæstet i solid og vidende reflektion, er ret genialt. Han kritiserer ikke de eksisterende magthavere eller den eksisterende samfundsorden, men lader i stedet sin arketype - den unge hovmodige student; i denne fortælling Niels Klim, men det kunne lige så godt have været Erasmus Montanus - nedbryde i mødet med en helt anden verden, der som en kæmpemæssig spejlsal reflekterer alle uhensigtsmæssighederne, begrænsningerne, den manglende dynamik og alle de andre ting, Holberg ønsker at stille skarpt på i tidens samfund. I Potu værdsættes langsomme beslutninger, som bunder i solid reflektion, og som kan tåle en trykprøvning så voldsom, at hvis du vil foreslå en samfundsordensændring, skal du være parat til at modtage en streng straf (op til dødsstraf), hvis den ikke holder til en grundig granskning, mens du omvendt bliver fejret som en helt, hvis ændringen bliver accepteret og dermed implementeret. Magtstrukturen i Potu er indrettet, så de der nyder størst respekt og har størst indkomst er de værdiskabende folk; håndværkere, bønder osv., mens ledere om embedsmænd har lavere status. Dog er både Gud og næsten også fyrsten uanfægtelige i Potu; Holberg var ikke anarkist eller revolutionær! Niels Klim får hurtigt et ry for at være intelligent, men alt for hurtig (også fysisk i forhold til de langsomt bevægelige træer) og uigennemtænkt, og han må tage til takke med et job som løber, hvilket han er stærkt utilfreds med, da det af ham selv og potuanerne regnes for at lavtstående job. Klim bruger sin adrætte fordel til at tage på en rejse i det underjordiske og udforsker nabolandene, hvor Holberg lader ham møde kulturer, hvor kønsrollerne er vendt totalt på hovedet (i modsætning til den næsten kætteriske tanke om ligestilling, der allerede er et faktum i Potu); hvor alle er akademikere, hvilket har givet et samfund i totalt fysisk forfald, da ingen får sig taget sammen til noget som helst; hvor alle er fornuftige, hvilket giver et kedeligt og uinspirerende samfund uden liv og glæde; hvor børn og unge er de fornuftige og overvejede, mens de ældre er de legesyge og fjollede osv.
Det er altsammen overraskende relevant også for samfundet i dag og med til at forme en metapointe om afbalancering og mådehold, men det bliver bare keeeeeedeligt at læse som en fortælling. Derfor giver jeg op, men efterlader alligevel to stjerner for den tindrende begavelse, der ligger bag Niels Klims Underjordiske Rejse. Må bogen blive læst af mere forstandige og tålmodige folk end mig!
June 19, 2019
"Venivano assoldati degli istigatori [...] che non appena vedevano languire l'impeto della disputa pungolavano i contendenti ai fianchi per pronarli e destarli dal loro torpore. [...] Oltre a questi disputatori, che i sotterranei in tono di scherno chiamavano "litiganti", gareggiavano quadrupedi selvatici e domestici, e uccelli ferocissimi esibiti agli spettatori per denaro. Chiesi al mio ospite come potesse un popolo dotato di tanto giudizio relegare fra i giochi circensi pratiche così nobili, che favoriscono lo sviluppo della capacità oratoria, la ricerca delle verità e la crescita intellettuale. Mi rispose che una volta, nei secoli barbari, queste competizioni erano molto stimate, ma l'esperienza aveva insegnato che le dispute possono nascondere la verità, rendere sfrontata la gioventù, provocare sommosse e soffocare gli studi più solidi, e tali esercizi furono perciò trasferiti dalle accademie ai circhi. i risultati poi dimostravano che con il silenzio, la lettura e la meditazione i giovani imparano più rapidamente".
Ludwig Holberg pare sia il padre nobile della letteratura danese. Nel 1741, quindici anni dopo Gulliver's Travel, nel solco di una tradizione che risale attraverso Thomas More fino almeno a Campanella, dava anonimamente alle stampe quest'opera satirica ricavandone fama e successo (chi ne fosse l'autore era un po' un segreto di pulcinella. Il giovane Niels Klim, fresco di studi, precipita al centro della Terra, che è in realtà cava e abitata all'interno da diversi popoli (uomini-albero, uomini-tigre, uomini-elefante, etc.) che affrontano con esiti alterni le stesse criticità del mondo di sopra. Un espediente per criticare ferocemente i vizi dell'Europa del tempo e per indicare nuove vie senza irritare troppo i potenti.
Il passo di cui sopra si riferisce alle dispute retoriche. Sono trascorsi quasi tre secoli e abbiamo i talkshow. Ah, il progresso!
Ludwig Holberg pare sia il padre nobile della letteratura danese. Nel 1741, quindici anni dopo Gulliver's Travel, nel solco di una tradizione che risale attraverso Thomas More fino almeno a Campanella, dava anonimamente alle stampe quest'opera satirica ricavandone fama e successo (chi ne fosse l'autore era un po' un segreto di pulcinella. Il giovane Niels Klim, fresco di studi, precipita al centro della Terra, che è in realtà cava e abitata all'interno da diversi popoli (uomini-albero, uomini-tigre, uomini-elefante, etc.) che affrontano con esiti alterni le stesse criticità del mondo di sopra. Un espediente per criticare ferocemente i vizi dell'Europa del tempo e per indicare nuove vie senza irritare troppo i potenti.
Il passo di cui sopra si riferisce alle dispute retoriche. Sono trascorsi quasi tre secoli e abbiamo i talkshow. Ah, il progresso!
May 29, 2018
Il mito della terra cava: questa è la prima attestazione letteraria, che nasce dalla penna ricca di inventiva del padre della letteratura danese. Con qualche debito nei conffroonti di Luc dlla "Storiano fronti della "Sa ve"ria vera" ddi LLucciano di Samosata,iano di Samosata, Holberg naHolberg narrra le peripezie di le peripezie di Niels Klim, un giovane baccalaur, un giovanebaccalauro che, precipitato in una grotta, coche, precipitato in una grotta, conosce un ununiversverso sotterraneo, popolato da esseri arborescenti ma dalle fatttezze antropomorfe, scimmie civilizzate, popoli-uccello, strumenti musicali animati, società di animali parlanti e tante altre stravaganti creature. Un po' Gulliver, un po' Crusoe, la su Un po' Gulliver, un po' Crusoe, la sua missione è quella di trovare il modo di risalire in superficie aa rivedere l'amata Europa, assaporando nel frattempo gioie, dolori, disgrazie e fasti che quel nuovo mondo gli riserva, assaporando nel frattempo gioie, dolori, disgrazie e fasti che quel nuovo mondo gli riserva.
Le eco letterarie future si sprecano: dal Paese delle meraviglie di Carroll ai romanzi fantastici di Conan Doyle e Jules Verne, dalla Fattoria degli animali di Orwelliana memoria al Pasto nudo di Burroughs, da Fantasia di Walt Disney al Pianeta delle scimmie...
Dal gusto chiaramente settecentesco, è un'avventura in parte mitica, in parte surreale, scritta originariamente in latino, ma con una prosa frizzante e ironica per il tempo, arricchita da descrizioni oniriche inframmezzate da dotte citazioni classiche.
Le eco letterarie future si sprecano: dal Paese delle meraviglie di Carroll ai romanzi fantastici di Conan Doyle e Jules Verne, dalla Fattoria degli animali di Orwelliana memoria al Pasto nudo di Burroughs, da Fantasia di Walt Disney al Pianeta delle scimmie...
Dal gusto chiaramente settecentesco, è un'avventura in parte mitica, in parte surreale, scritta originariamente in latino, ma con una prosa frizzante e ironica per il tempo, arricchita da descrizioni oniriche inframmezzate da dotte citazioni classiche.
January 10, 2022
This is a pretty enjoyable satirical travelogue of someone visiting the Inner Earth and living among tree and animal civilizations. While the Plinius-style parts are very fun the book drags on towards the end, unfortunately. But nonetheless this is an important fossil showing the evolution of certain genres and tropes.
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Ich las dieses Buch auf die Empfehlung Arnos hin, der zwar keinen vollständigen Dialog darüber schrieb, aber das Werk oft genug erwähnte. Zwar findet sich in meinem Regal nur die Version von 1970, aber soweit ich es beurteilen kann, ist die altertümliche Sprache glücklicherweise nicht allzu sehr geglättet worden, was für ein angenehmes Lesen sorgte. Den Anfang macht eine sehr Verne'sche Bergentrückung, woraufhin der frisch studierte Erzähler im Inneren der Hohlerde unter Baummenschen und Tierzilisiationen sein Leben verbringt und im Stile Plinius' seiner Erfahrungen beschreibt, aber vor allem deren Gesellschaftsformen, gipfelnd in einem sehr satirischen Bericht, der von einem Verfasser jener Hohlweltzilisation geschrieben wurde, der Europa besuchte. Als Brückenfossil der phantastischen Literatur liest sich der Niels Klim vorzüglich, wenn aber das eigentliche Buch manchmal ungeordnet daherkommt und gegen Ende vor allem sich sehr in die Länge zieht mit allerhand belanglosen Schlachten, was etwas schade ist.
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Ich las dieses Buch auf die Empfehlung Arnos hin, der zwar keinen vollständigen Dialog darüber schrieb, aber das Werk oft genug erwähnte. Zwar findet sich in meinem Regal nur die Version von 1970, aber soweit ich es beurteilen kann, ist die altertümliche Sprache glücklicherweise nicht allzu sehr geglättet worden, was für ein angenehmes Lesen sorgte. Den Anfang macht eine sehr Verne'sche Bergentrückung, woraufhin der frisch studierte Erzähler im Inneren der Hohlerde unter Baummenschen und Tierzilisiationen sein Leben verbringt und im Stile Plinius' seiner Erfahrungen beschreibt, aber vor allem deren Gesellschaftsformen, gipfelnd in einem sehr satirischen Bericht, der von einem Verfasser jener Hohlweltzilisation geschrieben wurde, der Europa besuchte. Als Brückenfossil der phantastischen Literatur liest sich der Niels Klim vorzüglich, wenn aber das eigentliche Buch manchmal ungeordnet daherkommt und gegen Ende vor allem sich sehr in die Länge zieht mit allerhand belanglosen Schlachten, was etwas schade ist.
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