Aladdin's Problem

by Ernst Jünger

poetic late novel, tr Joachim Neugroschel

Genres: Fiction, German Literature, Germany, Novels, Literature

136 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Ernst Jünger was a decorated German soldier and author who became famous for his World War I memoir Storm of Steel. The son of a successful businessman and chemist, Jünger rebelled against an affluent upbringing and sought adventure in the Wandervogel, before running away to briefly serve in the French Foreign Legion, an illegal act. Because he escaped prosecution in Germany due to his father's efforts, Junger was able to enlist on the outbreak of war. A fearless leader who admired bravery above all else, he enthusiastically participated in actions in which his units were sometimes virtually annihilated. During an ill-fated German offensive in 1918 Junger's WW1 career ended with the last and most serious of his many woundings, and he was awarded the Pour le Mérite, a rare decoration for one of his rank.

Junger served in World War II as captain in the German Army. Assigned to an administrative position in Paris, he socialized with prominent artists of the day such as Picasso and Jean Cocteau. His early time in France is described in his diary Gärten und Straßen (1942, Gardens and Streets). He was also in charge of executing younger German soldiers who had deserted. In his book Un Allemand à Paris , the writer Gerhard Heller states that he had been interested in learning how a person reacts to death under such circumstances and had a morbid fascination for the subject.

Jünger appears on the fringes of the Stauffenberg bomb plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler (July 20, 1944). He was clearly an inspiration to anti-Nazi conservatives in the German Army, and while in Paris he was close to the old, mostly Prussian, officers who carried out the assassination attempt against Hitler. He was only peripherally involved in the events however, and in the aftermath suffered only dismissal from the army in the summer of 1944, rather than execution.

In the aftermath of WW2 he was treated with some suspicion as a closet Nazi. By the latter stages of the Cold War his unorthodox writings about the impact of materialism in modern society were widely seen as conservative rather than radical nationalist, and his philosophical works came to be highly regarded in mainstream German circles. Junger ended his extremely long life as a honoured establishment figure, although critics continued to charge him with the glorification of war as a transcending experience.

Reviews

[Jordan West · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this principally for the allegorical, fantastic elements, and it was a long journey for little reward; narrated by one of Junger's typically aristocratic, oh so superior 'anarchs', the majority of the first hundred pages consist of his grousing about the iniquities of the age of democratic, technological materialism, making such claims as ". . .today's exploitation surpasses by far the practices of absolute monarchy" after confronting the grave injustice of paying property tax. Junger is a unique writer, but his work suffers when used as a springboard for his antiquated 'traditional' philosophy, which is unfortunately often the case.

[None Ofyourbusiness Loves Israel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baroh, an East German former army officer, faces a series of existential dilemmas, his journey becoming more intense after joining the military. Defection to the West plunges him into isolation, where he searches for meaning in a rapidly changing world. This philosophical exploration of modernity, nihilism, and death rituals is set against Baroh’s effort to establish an international for-profit necropolis in Turkey.

Jünger's prose, rich and evocative, invites contemplation of the broader themes of mortality and materialism's influence on society. The narrative is both a personal reflection and a broader allegory, challenging with its intellectual depth and unconventional perspectives on life and death.

Despite its intellectual merit, the text can be demanding, its heavy philosophical content requiring careful attention. However, this significant work offers a unique glimpse into Jünger's literary repertoire, revealing a different facet of his writing.

[Rowan Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aladdin's Problem is an excellent work by a talent author. It's not often that a book can grip me enough to finish it all in one go, especially considering his isn't the easy-going thriller fluff I usually dust off in a hurry. Ernst Junger is most famous for his Fascistic war epic Storm of Steel, but Aladdin's Problem shows us a whole different side to the author. Dealing with the mid-life crisis of a East Prussian from a declining aristocratic line called Fredric Baroh, Aladdin's Problem is a fascinating monologue on Nihilism, modernity and Death. At the beginning, Junger describes the young Fredric's mundane youth in the behind the Iron Curtain in the Peoples Army of Poland (for those of you unfamiliar with the complexities of Eastern Europe, though nominally German East Prussia was bordered by Slavic nations on all sides, and was annexed to Poland after WWII, with most of it's people displaced). The last in the long line of Prussian Aristocrats, Fredric dwells on the gradual decline of his once elite family into 'eccentrics and suicides' and is clearly nostalgic for the days of Prussian glory when his family name would have secured him a vibrant career, despite being outwardly 'political secure' and faithful to Socialism. In the army, the sergeant smells the Aristocrat in him and seeks to stamp it out, but after a distinguished tenure at a military academy he defects to the West, despite having little enthusiasm for Western ideals.

Then, after drifting aimlessly and marrying, Fredric becomes deeply involved in a highly surreal funeral business. In a biting satire of the Free Market, Junger has the pallor undertakers transform into a giant multinational corporation, offering huge tombs within Middle Eastern caves, where people of all faiths and walks of life go to die in state, complete with with it's own Air Line and links to the local dictatorship. The image of so much effort, finance and dedication being put into what is essentially a mass grave which will serve as a giant tombstone once the human race disappears is half-funny, half-disturbing.

So, as Fredric's wealth and success increase, his mental health disintegrates and he desperately seeks help from the mysterious figure of 'Phares'. A remarkable look into the inner crisis of an individual in a stagnant, joyless world peppered with literary, historical and philosophical references (throughout the book Junger refers to Friedrich Nietzsche as 'old gunpowder head') Aladdin's Problem is penetrating look into the human soul and society.

It's very hard to get your hands on English translations of Junger's 'mature' work, and the edition is very good. Snap it up while you can!

[Arda ÖS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ernst Jünger'in vurup gol yaptığı kitap. Neredeyse tüm külliyatının en göz dolduranı diyebilirim. Başyapıt mı...? Aday.

[Bbrown · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few pages of Aladdin's Problem are exceedingly strange, but after you get through them you could be forgiven for thinking that this novella is a rather typical piece of German literature. It tells the story of Friedrich, a man from an aristocratic family fallen into decline, who joins the military and starts to make his way in the world. It reminded me initially of The Radetzky March, for all its differences in time and theme. Stick with it to its final few pages, though, and the strangeness returns tenfold, almost reaching the level found in Ernst Jünger earlier work Eumeswil (which remains one of the weirdest books I've ever read).

For maximum effect you should go into Aladdin's Problem blind, which means not reading the rest of this review, or even the book's blurb. Before I get into spoilers, though, I want to be clear that I can't recommend this book except as a way to tell if you might like the much stranger and more challenging Eumeswil. If you enjoyed Aladdin's Problem then try out Eumeswil, if you didn't then there's no way you'd appreciate that longer work.

Even if you go into Aladdin’s Problem without any information, you are quickly presented with the central issue identified by Friedrich: “The problem is indivisible; man is alone.” Mankind is in decline, slowly suffering a spiritual, not material, death. Modern man is so greedy for profit that people are willing to sell the burial grounds of their ancestors to land developers, and the mechanized world is all too happy to use graves as yet more grist for the mill. Growing up in this modern world, so lacking in meaning, Friedrich plays his part in the rat race at first, and the majority of the book recounts his growth from a young man into adulthood. This section of the book features common themes you’ve seen before: Life as an adult is unsatisfying, but not enough to make a real change; initially passionate romance cools with age into a less than happy marriage; thoughtfulness and intellectual pursuits are gradually supplanted by a focus on money and business.

While Friedrich recounts his life up to this point there are brief snippets of strangeness (at one point Friedrich states that his “memory is tied less to places and dates than to the plasmatic substance,” for instance), but it is only in the book’s final third where the story gets weird again, with Friedrich working to establish an eternal necropolis to be used by the entire world. Even after this bizarre concept is introduced, Friedrich continues to describe this endeavor in realistic terms. The final handful of pages of Aladdin’s Problem, however, are truly off the rails. A character named Phares is introduced out of nowhere, and Friedrich’s bond with this figure, along with certain other ramblings, made me wonder whether Friedrich had gone insane. But apparently not, as the essay that ends this volume explains that Phares is a figure with links to gnosticism representing enlightenment who appears in one of Jünger’s earlier books. Then the novella abruptly ends with no conclusion to speak of. These last few pages left me confused in a way that I haven’t experienced for a long time.

In a way, the false mask of a normal story that makes up the bulk of this book is what causes the work as a whole so be strange, as it juxtaposes so starkly with the bizarre first and final pages of Aladdin’s Problem. It’s like speaking to someone on a bus that appears normal, only for the person to be revealed as a schizophrenic a few minutes later when they start yelling at things that aren’t there. Not that I’m implying that Jünger is insane, as he seems to have a personal philosophy he’s thoroughly thought through, it just happens to be completely alien compared to how I view the world. Jünger communicates his beliefs using an impressive vocabulary, the text being strewn with words like bagatelles, lacuna, carillon, asphodels, molasse, and anchorite. On one occasion he uses the word adumbrate, and I swear I haven’t read that word since I read Eumeswil.

Ultimately, I see Aladdin’s Problem as a stepping stone to Eumeswil, allowing you to dip your toe into Jünger’s philosophy and writing style through a work that’s only a quarter of Eumeswil’s length. As a person that has already tackled Eumeswil, however, Aladdin’s Problem did very little for me besides reminding me that Jünger is one of the weirdest authors I’ve ever come across. 3/5, I guess?

[Çağatay Boz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tesadüf eseri keşfettiğiniz bir yazarın hiçbir fikriniz olmadığı kitabını okumaya başlıyor ve elinizden dahi bırakamıyorsunuz ya, mükemmel bir his o. Ve ben bunu Ernst Jünger'in Alaaddin'in Problemi isimli, doğası itibariyle insanı boğan ve ucu bucağı olmayan bir dipsizliğe sokan bu hikâyesinde yaşadım.

"Birine taş olan diğerine aş olur."

"Bu işte de hesap yapılırken beyinlerden çok makineler kullanılıyor, fakat her ne hikmetse insanlar eskisinden daha çok yoruluyorlardı; makine dünyasının son hilesi buydu."

"Yaptığım işin, karakterimin rengini değiştirdiğini görüyordum. Evlilikerde de şiddetli bir kriz, kronik acıdan iyidir; sağlam bir kavga havayı temizler ve barışma, evdeki huzuru yeniden kurar."

"Mutluluk bize geçici olarak bahşedilmiştir. Esenlik duyguları içinde zaman, yanımızdan iz bırakmadan geçip gider; arzu ve bilgi derecemizin artması yok eder bu izler. Öte yandan acı ve zaman, ayrılmaz biçimde iç içedir. Dinler, bunun yaradılışın kusuru olduğunu anlamışlardır. Kimi, suçu tanrılara yükler, kimi insanları suçlar, kimileri de kaderi. Üzerinde yaşadığımız dünya huzursuz."

"Düş, gerçekliği alt edip onu şiire ve sanat eserine dönüştürüyor. Her büyük değişime böyle ulaşıldığını düşünüyorum; yani değişimin bir öncesinde delilik vardır."

Akıcı bir üslûpla yazılmış, ince, bir o kadar da boğucu bir hikâye. Kitabın arka kapağında dediği gibi; okuduktan sonra "rahatlık" hissedecek misiniz?

[Bakunin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book in an old bookstore in Ljubljana and had to read it. Its a good book but not one Jüngers best.

[Shubhendu Trivedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be clear, I have been an admirer of Ernst Jünger for years. Eumeswil has been one of my favourite books, and some of the things I have read in it have given fodder for thought for years, perhaps because somewhere it applealed to my own nascent sensibilities. However, I could not really understand the point behind Aladdin's Problem. Although I sort of understood some of the metaphors and the motifs in the book, generally it went over my head. It features a man, Baroch, who deserts from the East German army, crosses over to the west, marries a woman he loves, and then amasses wealth for what seems like a strange business. His success estranges him from Bertha, his wife, as well as making him lose his appetite for life. The book also features Phares, a Jewish wiseman, who recurs in many works of Junger. While some of the themes are clear: alienation in an increasingly inhumanized world. lack of permanence, the realization that man is alone, meaning and such. Like a lot of Junger's works, this is heavy in allegory and metaphor, and I did not really understand them to _really_ get what Junger was trying to say (unless it was what I hinted at above, in which case I would be disappointed). That said, I still give it three stars because I liked the story nonetheless. I also like Junger's exact, sparse, aphoristic and at times surreal prose. It is always a joy to read him. At some point I will return to Aladdin's Problem to get a new perspective.

[Oğuz Kayra · Rating 3 out of 5]

«Storm of Steel» Türkçe’de yerini almaya hazırlanırken, Ernst Jünger’in Türkçe’de daha önce yayımlanan kitaplarını okuyayım dedim. Sırada «Mermer Yalıyar» var. «Alaaddin’in Problemi kitabı, kuşkusuz Jünger’in hayatından parçalar taşıyor. Kitabın ilk iki bölümü ve sonlara doğru bahsedilen İstanbul, Ürgüp kısımları ayrıca ilgi çekici. İlgi alanınınız Jünger değilse zaman ayırılacak bir kitap değil. Jünger’in edebiyata ve insan düşüncesine kuşkusuz çok daha fazla katkısı var.

[Onur Demir · Rating 4 out of 5]

şaşırtıcı bir kitap. aristokrasiden gelen bir adamın kapitalizmde teknolojiyi bir insan mezarlığı için seferber etmesi ve gerçeklerden kopması. ben beğendim.

[yo JP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na Jüngerovi něco je a já nevím co ("Já něco chci, ale já nevím co... já nevím co." -feldkurát Otto Katz). Všichni akademici a jim podobní o Jüngerovi píšou superlativa, zatímco většina z malé čtenářské obce mají různorodé reakce. Tenhle člověk ale na něčem je. A nevím jestli je to jeho válečná a životní zkušenost. Jeho přístup. Jeho braní psychedelik. Kombinace všeho. Ostatně, prý se dostal až k předpovědi smartphonů i jejich dopadu. Ano, Jünger hodně řeší otázku titánské doby, jakou minulé století v jeho pojetí bylo. Technologie, věk práce a jeho dopad na duchovní život. "Naděje nás dovede dále než strach." Pravda. Taky věřím, že je lepší se pokusit i o "nesmyslný finální boj", než se snažit za každou cenu prokrysit. Jak mi můj bojechtivý alkoholický přítel kdysi řekl o svém národě, "Když ostatní vojáci na hoře neměli co použít, házeli mrtvá těla svých vlastních mužů po nepříteli." (...) "Vím, že bych nezvítězil. Ale přísahám, že jich chci vzít co nejvíc s sebou." Řekl bych, že co mě vždycky tak přitáhne je náznakovost, skoro až, jak je zmíněno v doslovu, lakoničnost a krátkost, s jakou Jünger kapitoly komponuje. Není tam žádnej tuk navíc. Ačkoliv nejvíce mě bavily ty ryze filozofické pasáže první a čtvré části, které jsou přeci jen trochu doslovnější. Těch prostředních sto stran, které tvoří hlavní, větší celek, o službe v armádě, přeběhnutí na druhou stranu (jde vidět, že Jünger není doslovný v autentičnosti, pouze se inspiruje prvky) až po práci pro renomovanou pohřební firmu. Junger spadá do 20. století, které doslova kompletně od-pro-žil (1895-1998) a 'Aladinův problém' je jedna z jeho velmi pozdních věcí. Ale myslím si, že se dá velmi dobře číst i bez jakékoliv znalosti vlastně čehokoliv, prostě jako standalone, který na sebe necháte působit, jak je. Nemůžu říct, že bych to nedoporučil, ale zároveň přesně nedokážu popsat, v čem tkví to, že mě Jünger vlastně zajímá, co z něj na mě tak působí... ačkoliv nelze upřít, že v momentech se tam děsně dobře trefuje.

"V současnosti mají řešení spíše podobu milosrdných lží."

"Štěstí je nám dopřáváno jen na prchavý okamžik. V euforii nám čas plyne jako voda, vysoké stupně uspokojení a naplnění jeho sílu zeslabují. A naopak žal a čas jsou neoddělitelně spjaty. To se dotýká nedokonalosti stvoření; kulty to rozpoznaly. Někteří připisují vinu bohům, jiní lidem, další osudu. Žijeme ve světě bez pokoje."

"Silněji žijeme ve snech; zde se naše síla hromadí a také končí."

str 123-124, kapitola LXXVII. Komplet.

"Ale žebro - to nelze vymyslet. Adam je dokonalý člověk, ani muž, ani žena, ale androgyn, jako andělé - ženu ze sebe odštěpil jako svou vysněnou představu. Naše touha je jen vnímáním ztráty - stínem první touhy, která stála u zrodu."

str 128 (LXXX) "...Právě zde se ukazuje hloubka touhy. Stále silněji pociťujeme, že čistá moc a požitek z technologie nás neuspokojují. Chybí nám to, co bývalo anděly a co andělé dávali. Mimochodem, nemyslím si, že technologie je v rozporu s velkým zvratem. Dovede nás až ke zdi času a sama se promění. Cílem raket nejsou cizí světy, jejich účelem je otřást starou vírou, jejíž Věčnost nám nestačí."

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

this didn't really do much for me, probably because it is mostly about 85 year old junger's metaphysical preoccupations and i don't find those very interesting. the concept of the giant funeral director company buying up underground cities in turkey to turn them into multinational cemeteries was kind of cool though.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Ora che gli dèi ci hanno abbandonati, siamo costretti a ricorrere alla loro origine, l'arte." (p. 11)

"L'uomo resta l'enigma per eccellenza." (p. 68)

"Ciò che sul piano cosmico è la marea, per l'uomo è la poesia: una risposta a grandi lontananze." (p. 69)

[irem · Rating 5 out of 5]

"rejimler insanın beyninin içinden geçip gidebilir."
nihilizmi iliklerime kadar hissettim ve her sayfada bu adam aynı ben ya oldum. algoritmalar ve üslubuyla başyapıt denebilir çevirisi de çok başarılı fikrimce.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was genau Aladins Problem ist, hat sich mir leider nicht erschlossen.

[Cláudia Ferreira · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*
Niilismo!

[aslı · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

[JANEY MCGEARY · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe this was in large part over my head. That being said, the undercurrent of nihilism, of nothing really having any meaning, is one I strongly disagree with

[Cyrus Colah · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Unnecessary work is of greater social benefit than necessary work, which is inevitable and emerges of its own accord.”

[Mahdhi Osman-Penrice · Rating 4 out of 5]

You claim to disagree with modern materialisms effect on the soul, and yet you profit by offering an industrialised place of eternal rest. How interesting. I am very intelligent.

[Ronaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty nice