The only fault I could find for this little book would be the order of the stories, simply because the eponymous one is the most wonderful piece of literature you can read, and all else by comparison, no matter how great within itself, fades in its aftermath.

This selection consists of The Legend of the Sleepers, and Simon Magus. The latter tells of two legends about the figure’s death, written in that simple but engaging language common for folktales. The former is, even more than an exquisitely atmospheric and cinematic retelling of a legend, the fragmented series of a mystic’s visions. Dream and reality blur, fervent images and pagan allusions burn like the Sacred Heart. It’s a demanding story, one I knew I’d have to read over and over again through the rest of my life, one that is read not with the eyes but with the heart, one that cannot be deciphered but understood deep within. Its obscurity is what makes it so transcendental, so divine. As someone interested in mystic literature, I wager this might just be the best the out there.