According to the Guardian, curators of a new exhibition argue that Jan Potocki's The Manuscript Found in Saragossa remains relevant today because of its global humanism, despite the book's strange and mysterious background. The Guardian reported that the novel, written more than 200 years ago and described as an encyclopedic roman-monde, follows Alphonse van Worden, a young Walloon officer travelling through the Sierra Morena towards Madrid to enlist in the Spanish army. During his journey he encounters two demonic Moorish sisters, shape-shifting apparitions, and a Jewish Kabbalist who seeks to use mystical formulas to control spirits and understand the universe. The Guardian described the work as one of the least-known great novels in the European canon, noting that it has developed a cult following among readers including Salman Rushdie and Jerry Garcia.
Source: The Guardian.
