The Trumpets of Jericho is a very short work that took a surprising amount of time to read.
Written by Unica Zürn in 1968.
The translators introduction was very beneficial and honestly absolutely necessary to begin to understand anything about the book.
Tortured and painful, littered with autobiographical details the stories unfold in a kaleidoscope of mishmash horrors and dreams. About the only way I can describe it.
The opening sequence about her baby is the most graphic remembrance I have about the book. Lately every time I see a commercial on the television about a birth of a child I think immediately about it. It truly is that memorable.
The rest of it not so much, bits and pieces stand out from the first reading. I believe some more reading about her life and then a subsequent rereading of this book would bring forth more illumination.
I honestly believe that the thought of suicide had been on her mind for a long time, particularly jumping to her death, which makes an appearance here in this book. The seeds blossoming later into reality.
This book is so weird at times I am not sure how to decipher what is all being said. I will reread it at a later date and try to decipher each story once I have a greater grasp on her life story overall.
The one thought I had about her style was how Kenning-like it was. For anybody who has studied Old Norse poetry would know that a kenning was a word or a series of word descriptions mostly based and coming from Old Norse mythology that described a person or item or thing in different terms based on the myths. I think this is probably the key to deciphering fully her odd writings.
To read this amazingly weird book check out the link here, The Trumpets of Jericho
Aaron's Poetry Page 
One thought on “The Trumpets of Jericho by Unica Zürn”