The oceans of cruelty: twenty-five tales of a corpse-spirit : a retelling
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"One of the oldest books in the world, The Oceans of Cruelty is a sequence of twenty-five tales from India whose central theme is the dark power of storytelling. At the start, a young king falls into the hands of a wicked sorcerer, who orders him to find a vetala, or corpse spirit, to serve him; the young king must do as he is told, and soon enough he is also under the sway of the no less malevolent spirit. Like a bat, the spirit hangs from the branches of a tree, and the king is condemned to bear it on his back through a dark forest as it whispers a riddling story in his ear. These are tales of suicidal passion, clever deceit, patriarchal oppression, and narrow escapes from death, and as long as the king can resolve the problems they pose, his bondage continues; the vampiric creature goes on commanding his attention in the dark. Only when the king is out of answers will he at last be free, though when that comes to pass -- well, that’s when the whole story takes a new turn. Douglas Penick’s re-creation of this ancient work brings out all its humor and horror and vitality, as well its unmistakable relevance in a world of stories gone viral"--
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Penick, D. J. (2024). The oceans of cruelty: twenty-five tales of a corpse-spirit : a retelling. New York, nyrb / New York Review Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Penick, Douglas J., 1944-. 2024. The Oceans of Cruelty: Twenty-five Tales of a Corpse-spirit : A Retelling. New York, nyrb / New York Review Books.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Penick, Douglas J., 1944-, The Oceans of Cruelty: Twenty-five Tales of a Corpse-spirit : A Retelling. New York, nyrb / New York Review Books, 2024.
MLA Citation (style guide)Penick, Douglas J. The Oceans of Cruelty: Twenty-five Tales of a Corpse-spirit : A Retelling. New York, nyrb / New York Review Books, 2024.
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Record Information
| Last Sierra Extract Time | Jan 13, 2025 03:12:17 PM |
|---|---|
| Last File Modification Time | Jan 13, 2025 03:12:22 PM |
| Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Jan 15, 2025 01:38:59 AM |
MARC Record
| LEADER | 03777nam a2200433 i 4500 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | CoBPL24a0216 | ||
| 003 | CoBPL | ||
| 008 | 240820t20242024nyu e b 000 0 eng d | ||
| 010 | |a 2023007793 | ||
| 020 | |a 9781681377667 |q (paperback) | ||
| 020 | |a 1681377667 |q (paperback) | ||
| 040 | |a CoBPL |b eng |e rda |c CoBPL | ||
| 082 | 0 | 4 | |a 398.20954 |2 23/2024 |q CoBPL |
| 100 | 1 | |a Penick, Douglas J., |d 1944- |e author. | |
| 240 | 1 | 0 | |a Vetālapañcaviṃśati (Hindustani version). |l English |
| 245 | 1 | 4 | |a The oceans of cruelty : |b twenty-five tales of a corpse-spirit : a retelling / |c Douglas J. Penick. |
| 246 | 3 | |a Oceans of cruelty : |b 25 tales of a corpse-spirit : a retelling | |
| 264 | 1 | |a New York : |b nyrb / New York Review Books, |c 2024. | |
| 264 | 4 | |c ©2024 | |
| 300 | |a 176 pages ; |c 21 cm | ||
| 336 | |a text |b txt |2 rdacontent | ||
| 337 | |a unmediated |b n |2 rdamedia | ||
| 338 | |a volume |b nc |2 rdacarrier | ||
| 504 | |a Includes bibliographical references. | ||
| 505 | 0 | |a Before beginnin -- A wave beginning -- A tide of tales: King Vikramaditya -- The demon's story -- Story 1. True love -- Story 2. Three suitor (1) -- Story 3. Service -- Story 4. Wise birds -- Story 5. Three suitors (2) -- Story 6. Transposed heads -- Story 7. Four suitors -- Story 8. Gratitude -- Story 9. Vows -- Story 10. Sensitivity (1) -- Story 11. Love and ruling (1) -- Story 12. Uncaused -- Story 13. Love and chaos -- Story 14. Illusions -- Story 15. Sacrifice -- Story 16. Beauty -- Story 17. Unchanging -- Story 18. Three fathers -- Story 19. Love and ruling (2) -- Story 20. Fate and love -- Story 21. A corpse revived -- Story 22. Transferring consciousness -- Story 23. Sensitivity (2) -- Story 24. A corpse revived -- Story 25. A question with no answer -- Diaspora. | |
| 520 | |a "One of the oldest books in the world, The Oceans of Cruelty is a sequence of twenty-five tales from India whose central theme is the dark power of storytelling. At the start, a young king falls into the hands of a wicked sorcerer, who orders him to find a vetala, or corpse spirit, to serve him; the young king must do as he is told, and soon enough he is also under the sway of the no less malevolent spirit. Like a bat, the spirit hangs from the branches of a tree, and the king is condemned to bear it on his back through a dark forest as it whispers a riddling story in his ear. These are tales of suicidal passion, clever deceit, patriarchal oppression, and narrow escapes from death, and as long as the king can resolve the problems they pose, his bondage continues; the vampiric creature goes on commanding his attention in the dark. Only when the king is out of answers will he at last be free, though when that comes to pass -- well, that’s when the whole story takes a new turn. Douglas Penick’s re-creation of this ancient work brings out all its humor and horror and vitality, as well its unmistakable relevance in a world of stories gone viral"-- |c Publisher. | ||
| 650 | 0 | |a Folk literature, Hindi. | |
| 650 | 0 | |a Tales |z India. | |
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