Rereading: FIGURES OF EARTH by James Branch Cabell

This was the first Cabell book I read, but not this wonderfully illustrated hardcover, instead the 1969 paperback from Ballantine Books, an early entry in their Adult Fantasy line. It had a few of the simpler Papé illustrations, but none of the tipped-in plates as seen above. This is the 1925 illustrated reprint of the 1921 first edition.

The book has a preface by Cabell about how pleased he is with the illustrations, which I enjoyed, and a foreword full of flowery, vocabulary challenging language similar to his “Beyond Life,” but once the actual book begins, the prose is much more to my liking: spare, clever, convincingly medieval without being too flowery in most cases. The skill of the writing is evidenced by the fact that my opinion of the main character kept changing throughout the book.

We first see Manuel as a young serf working as a swineherd by a pool of water in Haranton. He’s large, muscular, and handsome, though his expression has a permanent squint, and he keeps his emotions well hidden. One day a stranger offers him a fine sword and a quest to rescue a maiden from a sorcerer living atop a nearby mountain. Manuel accepts the quest, though he has no experience with quests, swords, or sorcerers. On the way up the mountain he’s joined by Niafer, also on the same quest, and Manuel observes Niafer’s skill in getting by all the sorcerer’s defenses through the use of simple tricks. He also observes that Niafer is pretty young woman in disguise.

Atop the mountain, the pair learn that the maiden, who Miramon the sorcerer has married, has quite taken him in hand, and is in no need of rescuing. But Manuel and Niafer discover they’ve fallen in love, and depart down the mountain to get married themselves. At the base, they meet Death on his black steed, as Miramon suggested they might, and Death tells them one of the two must ride with him on his second white horse to his land, never to return. Manuel, despite his love for Niafer, takes the very practical view that he himself must go on to the glorious destiny he imagines, and Niafer must ride with Death. Niafer agrees, and so Manuel loses the first of several loves of his life, though later in the story he is able to reclaim her.

Using the kind of tricks Niafer taught him, Manuel goes on to that fame and fortune he feels he deserves, but there are always prices to pay and compromises along the way. The book follows him through a fairly short life of about 25 years, and many adventures, both in the real world and among fantastic beings and monsters. Manuel marries twice, and also follows a compulsion to be a sculptor of “figures of earth.” He eventually gains an undeserved reputation as a hero, riches, and a hard-won kingdom, but none of his successes seem to satisfy him. At last, only his children are able to bring him comfort.

This is a fascinating book, giving the reader a lot to think about. It has a gentle humor throughout, but plenty of emotion as well, and a plot that’s unpredictable. Recommended.

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