Book Review: "The Manuscript Found in Saragossa" by Jan Potocki

I honestly forgot all about this book. It's an odd story where I read it before encountering Vocal and then for some reason I met with it again. I was scrolling through some book recommendations recently and I found this book, thinking to myself about where I had heard of it before. I kept trying to remember the story. I remembered the odd few characters and thought that I should give it another read because my memory was so hazy. Ultimately, when I did end up reading it again I undertstood why I didn't remember it very well. This novel has so many characters and stories that are encountered in the sixty-six days of its setting that there was no way I would remember everything after almost ten years of not having read it.

The story begins with a French officer discovering a mysterious manuscript in Saragossa during the Napoleonic Wars. The manuscript recounts the adventures of Alphonse van Worden, a young Walloon officer. You'd think that this manuscript is just going to be about this one Alphonse guy, but there are too many people to count when it comes to how many people he meets on his journeys. And of course, it gets all 1001 Arabian Nights on us almost immediately in when Alphonse takes to the mountains.

Alphonse arrives at a deserted inn in the Sierra Morena mountains, where he encounters two Moorish princesses: Emina and Zubeida. They tempt him with a strange, surreal feast and later offer him a choice between wealth, love, or the preservation of his soul. If this does not interest you then I suggest you read it. Surprisingly enough, for a book that was written over 150 years' ago, it is still very readable and very enjoyable. It isn't unnecessary in its wording and the translator has done a good job of keeping everything feeling very mystical.

Alphonse frequently encounters two strange brothers, Pedro and Solomon Zoto, who are linked to a band of outlaws and play a mysterious role in his journey. I'm not going to say anymore about them because of the fact it might be a bit of a spoiler. Just know that what happens is a lot of fun and take my word for it. There is a part though where our protagonist wakes up next to hanged men and he later learns why. Here's a hint: it's got something to do with a curse. I told you this book was good.

He also learns of a secret society, the Gomelez, who possess ancient knowledge and mystical powers. This society has deep connections to his family's history. It becomes a little bit difficult to keep track of things but know that once you're at this point, there is still a lot to find out and you also pretty much work out why there is a manuscript in the first place. The atmosphere is so wonderful in this book that I don't think I could write a review long enough to appreciate it.

We then have a lot of stuff about the Spanish Inquisition, so you can probably tell the time period that this is set in. The novel is famous for its complex structure, where characters narrate their own stories, leading to stories within stories. These tales include themes of love, betrayal, supernatural events, and philosophical reflections. On top of all of this, we have the main narrative. But the sheer breadth of characters which include but are not limited to: a cabalist, princesses, inquisitors, captains, scholars, gypsies, priests, noblemen, rogues, lovers and more will drag you deeper and deeper into this wild story.

All in all, I was glad I read this again and was able to tell you about it. There's so much in this story that once you start reading it, even though you know it is pretty long, you simply do not want to put it down. It is a brilliant narrative with a great, gleaming mystical atmosphere which mixes so many genres and characters together to create an epic story. It is a lengthy one so if you give it a go, I urge you to stick it out because it will really be worth it.