The Sunset Lands, (Paperback)

<p><b>A never-before-translated, dreamlike epic of a willfully blind empire on the verge of collapse</b></p><p>Written in the mid-1950s but only published posthumously half a century later, <i>The Sunset Lands</i> portrays both a world and the ending of that world in terms that draw on myth, symbol, fable and history. The Kingdom, a declining civilization, is threatened at its borders by a barbarian invasion. An unnamed narrator sets out, with a small group of companions, to confront a threat that the Kingdom's authorities stubbornly refuse to acknowledge. What begins as a quest to the besieged frontier city of Roscharta gradually shifts into something much darker in tone. With Gracq's own wartime experiences informing this exploration of barbaric horrors and existential destinies, <i>The Sunset Lands</i> confronts what it means to live without despair while facing the prospect of death. Only recently uncovered in 2014, this major work finally sees the light of day in a masterful English translation.<br><b>Julien Gracq</b> (1910-2007), born Louis Poirier, was known for such dreamlike novels as <i>The Castle of Argol</i>, <i>A Dark Stranger</i>, <i>The Opposing Shore</i> (for which he refused the Prix Goncourt) and <i>Balcony in the Forest</i>.</p>

• The Sunset Lands, (Paperback)
• Author: Julien Gracq
• ISBN: 9781962728119
• Format: Paperback
• Publication Date: 2026-08-11
• Page Count: 248