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Algernon Blackwood
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The Human Chord Hardcover – 25 May 2017

by Algernon Blackwood (Author)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.

We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

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  1. ISBN-10
    1374907804
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1374907805
  3. Publisher
    Pinnacle Press
  4. Publication date
    25 May 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    15.6 x 1.12 x 23.39 cm
  7. Print length
    182 pages
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Algernon Blackwood

Algernon Blackwood

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3.8 out of 5 stars
22 global ratings

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  • 川流桃桜
    5.0 out of 5 stars これぞオカルト教養小説
    Reviewed in Japan on 3 June 2003
    Verified Purchase
    『怪談の悦び』(創元推理文庫)と云うアンソロジーの著者紹介で「壮大なカバラ小説(?)」と言及されていたのに興味を惹かれて買ってみたのだが、まさか難解なオカルト用語なんぞが出て来るのではと構えていたところ、これが思わぬ掘り出し物であった。元々ブラックウッドは安易にペダントリーを振り回す作家達とは対極の立場に立ち、飽く迄自分で納得した事柄についてのみ自分の言葉で語るタイプの書き手なので、秘密めかした専門(?)用語等は出て来ない。魔術の背景にある思想的側面に焦点を当て、それを個人の経験の形で突き詰め描き出した傑作である。
    　或る不思議な募集広告に応募したことがきっかけで不思議な発見と実験とに巻き込まれることになった、或る夢見がちな青年に視点を置き、彼が秘儀参入の諸段階を経て行く様を描いているのだが、冗長になり過ぎず、教養小説の様な面白さがある。また彼が師事することになるオカルティスト＝マッド・サイエンティストにも、一種の神秘の探究者としての痛快な魅力がある。思想的と今書いたが、厳密に論理的整合性の取れた概念を用いた論述として彼の言うことを捉え、頭で読んではいけない。寧ろ直感的、霊感的に次々と言葉をすり替えていくことによって、その概念の持ち得る多層的な詩的アスペクトを開発していってみせてくれることにこそ、本書の真骨頂はあるだろう。一旦そうした読み方さえ受け入れられれば論旨は終始一貫、実に明解である。
    　成る程確かにカバラらしき書物や思想が出て来る。宇宙を振動と捉え、音声や名前、文字(特にヘブライ語)の中に力を認め、個々の人間に固有の音符で奏でられる和音(『人間絃』と訳されている方もいるが、これは『人間和音』だと思う)を経路として、万有の秘密に分け入ると云う姿勢は、オカルトっぽいどころではなくオカルトそのもの。ブラックウッド自身が「黄金の夜明け」教団に属し、秘密の名前を持っていたことは周知の事実であるが、本書は恐らくその成果が文学的に充分に発揮された成果と言えるのだろう。クライマックスは彼の作品の中でも最も派手なシーンである。
    　読者が魔術等について全く耳にしたことがないならば、本書を読んでオカルトだと全く気が付かないと!云う事態も考えられる本であるが、訳の解らないオカルト書がどしどし翻訳される一方で、こうしたシンプルで力強い書物が未だ紹介されていないのは残念なことだと思う。
    　因みに、この版には註や解説、目次の類いは一切ない。紙面は割と見易い方だと思う。
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  • M. DeKalb
    4.0 out of 5 stars To Be As Gods.
    Reviewed in the United States on 25 December 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Robin Spinrobin, 28, unemployed and looking for `life's great adventure' answers an add in the paper. He soon meets his new employer, Reverend Skale. Skale is conducting a sound experiment that he wants Spinrobin to participate in.
    Meeting Miriam, and Mrs. Mawle, Spinrobin has encountered everyone he'll be working with in the desolate confines of the home in the solitude of the forest removed from most all of society.

    Falling quickly in love with Miriam, Spinrobin maintains his tasks and continues lessons with Skale who is teaching him proper pronunciation of Hebrew. The idea being that to be able to pronounce, correctly, something or somebody's `Big Name' will put oneself in a position of taking over that beings power (common in Egyptian myth - it's how Isis took Ra's power after tricking him into it).

    Coming time for the ultimate pronunciation, the tetragrammation of God's name (4 people, 4 chord qualities, 4 syllables) Spinrobin is torn in two directions: 1. Honor and responsibility to Skale, through whom he was taught much and as a person, greatly respected and 2. Love for Miriam. A woman he adored and who fulfilled his desire in that `the great adventure he sought was only the supreme adventure of a very wonderful love.' Designed to show the struggle between being in want of the Gods powers and being in possession of great love, with philosophical ideas that the latter is the celebration of the prior. To love is to be God-like.

    Neat quotes:

    `Rhythm and harmony find their way into the secret places of the soul' - Plato.
    `it is a calculation which the soul makes in secret.' (of Music) - Neitzche.
    `Love is a mighty humanizer and holds down the nose upon the grindstone of... practical values of human existence.' - Blackwood.
    `I am as a God now. You have made me so! You love me!' - Blackwood (Miriam to Spinrobin).
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  • Kindle Customer
    3.0 out of 5 stars OK listening 🎶😣😣
    Reviewed in the United States on 8 April 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Another will written British romantic relationship adventure thriller short story by Algernon Blackwood about a young man 🚹 who comes to work as the secretary of a mysterious man. I would recommend this novella to readers of fantasy. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to Alexa as I do. 🏡🔰👒😢 2022
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