The Sex of the Angels, the Saints in their Heaven: A Breviary by Raoul Schrott


The Sex of the Angels, the Saints in their Heaven: A Breviary
Title : The Sex of the Angels, the Saints in their Heaven: A Breviary
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 0857425552
ISBN-10 : 9780857425553
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 152
Publication : First published January 1, 2001

Breviaries, books of standard religious readings for particular denominations, are a familiar genre with a long pedigree. But you’ve definitely never seen a breviary like this one. The Sex of the Angels is a playful, often ironic take on the breviary in the form of a collection of letters that begins by taking up early Christian cosmology and follows the Biblical mutations of the angel from Babylon to the present day. As it goes along, Raoul Schrott also weaves in a history which ranges from ancient Greek legends of the origin of light to the medieval darkness of the eclipse. But there is more going on here than meets the eye: the letters are addressed to an unnamed “other” and chart the course of an elusive affair. They are, we come to realize, a declaration of love—or, more accurately, of yearning—but also a far-reaching poetic essay which moves between etymological history, anthropological anecdote, philosophy, and disquisition on the nature of art. The text is supplemented by sumptuous illustrations by Arnold Mario Dall’O that chart the stories of the saints, and the result is a unique dialogue between literature and art: an extraordinary and rare book about love.
 

The Sex of the Angels, the Saints in their Heaven: A Breviary Reviews

  • Joseph Schreiber

    This gorgeously illustrated, wonderfully inventive angelology is essentially love letter to a distant human angel, a lost beloved. Its twenty short chapters loosely trace the origins of angels (with some very unusual interpretations), expose the narrator's longing for a woman who fails respond to his missives , and weave in brief sketches of saintly life and martyrdom. It reads like an extended prose poem. First published in German in 2001, now available in English for the first time, this is a book of rare and singular beauty.
    Longer review here:
    https://roughghosts.com/2019/04/23/su...

  • Soren

    An interesting interpretation of the origin of angels, illustrated beautifully. The work itself is translated but the translation felt soulful and thoughtful and informed, and the narrative and illustrations work very well together. A very fascinating quick read that will have you re-reading portions after you’re done, because the poetry of it mixed with simple longing is a rare treat