The Cream of the Jest: A comedy of evasions
The Cream of the Jest: A Comedy of Evasions is a philosophical novel by James Branch Cabell, published in 1917. It follows Felix Kennaston, who discovers a broken disk in his garden that unlocks dreams of an idealized woman named Ettare, encountered across various historical periods. The narrative blurs the lines between dream and reality, exploring themes of beauty, meaning, and the human experience. This work is notable for its allegorical style and its influence on fantasy fiction.
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“Everything in life is miraculous. It rests within the power of each of us to awaken from a dragging nightmare of life made up of unimportant tasks and tedious useless little habits to see life as it really is, and to rejoice in its exquisite wonderfulness.””
— James Branch Cabell
“I quite fixedly believe the Wardens of Earth sometimes unbar strange windows, that face on other worlds than ours. And some of us, I think, once in a while get a peep through these windows. But we are not permitted to get a long peep, or an unobstructed peep, nor very certainly, are we permitted to see all there is”
— James Branch Cabell
