The Centaur: Collector's Edition - Algernon Blackwood

S.T. Joshi calls this novel the `cornerstone' of the entire Blackwood canon, and this seems to be a fair assessment of this intensely philosophical work; this could easily constitute an instruction manual in Blackwood's world-view (if we assume that he had confidence in what he wrote), and therefore is really required reading for anybody wishing to trace the derivation of many of the naturalistic undercurrents in his work; for example the memorable story `The Man Whom the Trees Loved' is essentially the sentiment expressed in this book in a diluted guise.However, 'The Centaur' is, in reality, divorced from the genre in which Blackwood's fame is the largest - horror. It is a supernatural novel, and could comfortably be placed within the bounds of what Lovecraft called `weird' literature; but fans of Blackwood's horror tales may not necessarily enjoy this novel, it is immensely unconventional, and unlike anything I've read before - in short, it will only satisfy those of a particular taste, and those who wish to enquire further into Blackwood's thought. It is the very opposite of what one might term a `commercial' novel.'The Centaur' is a practically plotless book; although a skeleton of a narrative does bind the thing together. Terrence O'Malley is a peculiar type of mystic who yearns for a true affinity with the Earth and loathes all the trappings of modern civilisation with its want of genuine content and happiness through nature, a society which favours the acquirement of endless material superficialities in its stead. He meets a strange, outwardly simple man and his son who seem to hold the key which would relieve O'Malley's insatiable desire for lifestyle intimate with that of the Earth, which he believes to be conscious. A spiritual revelation in the Caucasus Mountains inspires him to convert `blind' humanity to his world-view.'The Centaur' holds absolutely no dramatic import; it relies on its often beautiful imagery and the prose-poetry in which it is written to ignite the reader's interest, and admittedly, it does for a good deal of the book. However, this book certainly was challenging; not intellectually, but actually forcing to oneself to get through a few more chapters of the novel - the complete lack of suspense or any sense of anticipation of some exciting revelation means many parts of the book come very close to plain tediousness. There's also a constant feeling that Blackwood is simply repeating himself in his long philosophical discussions, covering the same ground in a similar mass nebulous language; these tend to dominate the entire work. I would estimate that as much as a third of the book, if not more, could comfortably have been dispensed with, without loosing much of the novel's spirit; it does at times feel like a self-indulgency on Blackwood's part.Having said that, the novel is successful in many areas, the often gorgeous language and poetry Blackwood is capable of generating is found in abundance here, often did I forget the absence of a real narrative when lost among some lovely turn of phrase or poetic image. His philosophy, though I did not find it plausible, was at times a joy to read and Blackwood's criticisms of our modern, mechanical society are even more relevant today, almost a century after this book's publication.There is no doubt in my mind that 'The Centaur' would have benefited from a large reduction in its length, and whilst it certainly has its moments, it is a severely flawed work. Although, if you are of the naturalistic or ecological/spiritual persuasion, its merits will surely become more apparent. As it is, if you are to understand Blackwood thoroughly as an author and as a man, The Centaur is an essential read, and I'm glad I've finished it.I would have rated it 2.5/5

現代のスターゲイザーである主人公オマリーが、科学を奉じる医師と議論を戦わせたり、不可解だが素晴らしく大きな雰囲気を堪えるロシア人と出会って彼等の仲間に憧れていったりする様子が、彼の友人の視点を通して描かれる。この大地の深秘である「原初の世界」へ、この地球がまだ若かった頃の「原初の人間」の住まう領域へ、多少の曲折を経乍ら分け入っていく、或いは還帰してゆく主人公の姿が、霊感溢れる筆致で辿られてゆくのであるが、こうしたテーマを扱う作品にありがちな卑俗な現実との対決はそれ程大きく扱われず、超越的なる存在と触れ合うことで惹き起こされるショックも、ここでは戦慄としてではなく歓喜として描かれる。躍動する生命に向けての意識の拡大を、ひたすら肯定的に捉えようと格闘した書である。　スケールの大きさだけから言えば、間違いなくブラックウッドの最高傑作と呼べる作品で、ジェイムズやフェヒナー等様々の幻視家達の神秘的傾向の強い著作からの引用を各章の冒頭に鏤め(元々の初版は1911年)、大自然との合一を果たすことを第一の目標とする心霊的超絶主義の立場が最もよく現れている。物語性は薄く、宇宙意識への自己の解放の克明な描写に紙面の多くが割かれている。  尚、この出版社の本は解説や目次の類いが一切ないのが何とも不便だ。