Novel · A way to begin
Alamut
Vladimir Bartol · 1938
Synopsis
In the eleventh century, Hassan ibn Sabbah, leader of the Ismailis, holds the fortress of Alamut and gathers an army against the Seljuk empire that dominates Persia. Halima, a young slave he has bought, enters the gardens hidden behind the fortress, where houris are trained. Ibn Tahir, a young volunteer, joins the garrison and is chosen among the fidais, who are taught that death in the master's service opens paradise at once. Hassan puts them to sleep with hashish and has them carried into the gardens, which they take for the promised paradise.
Context
The novel appeared in 1938, after some ten years of preparation; the idea had come to him in Paris, through Josip Vidmar, from Marco Polo's account of the sect. The original edition bore an ironic dedication to Mussolini, and the book's maxim, “nothing is true, everything is permitted”, was first read as a denunciation of totalitarianisms, then, from the late eighties, as a warning against fundamentalism. The novel inspired the Assassin's Creed video game series and pages of William Burroughs.
Who it is for
A long adventure novel, driven by philosophical speeches; it has been available in French since 1988.
Prizes and reception
Prix de la Banovine in 1939; translated into Czech as early as 1946, into French in 1988, into English in 2004, and into many other languages.
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