The Fifty Year Sword

The Fifty Year Sword

Infobox Book
name = The Fifty Year Sword
title_orig = Het Vijftig Jaars Zwaard
translator =


author = Mark Z. Danielewski
cover_artist = Peter van Sambeek
country = Netherlands
language = Dutch, English
series =
subject =
genre = Short stories
publisher = De Bezige Bij
release_date = 31 October 2005
media_type = Print (Hardback)
pages = 100
size_weight = 33 x 17 cm, 1 lb.
isbn = ISBN 90-234-1856-5 (orig. Dutch)
& ISBN 90-234-1877-8 (Eng. trans.)
preceded_by = The Whalestoe Letters
followed_by = Only Revolutions

"The Fifty Year Sword" is a novella written by Mark Z. Danielewski. Only 1,000 first edition English books were released. 51 of those copies are signed in marker with a "Z" (varying in colour and number to coincide with the 5 coloured quotation marks that signify different speakers in the text), while the first copy is signed "Mark Danielewski" in ink. A second English edition of 1,000 was released in October 2006. In a recent interview, Danielewski announced that there are currently plans for a future US printing."The Fifty Year Sword" uses strange formatting and colors throughout the book, much like Danielewski's previous work, "House of Leaves". However, unlike "House of Leaves" which only contained three colors (blue, red, and purple), "The Fifty Year Sword" contains 5 colors which are used on quotation marks. The colors indicate which of 5 characters is speaking at the moment, according to the introduction of the book.

Plot summary

The story takes place at a woman's birthday party in a foster home. A storyteller is invited by the social worker to entertain the orphans. He brings with him a long, black box. The storyteller entertains the orphans by explaining his adventures of getting what's inside the box. He went to a person who makes special swords, and he left with T50YS [The Fifty Year Sword] . He then opens the box, revealing a seemingly bladeless sword, and he waves it in the air at the candles. The woman, for whom the 50th birthday party is, gets annoyed at the storyteller and tells the children it really is just a sword handle with no blade. She takes T50YS, waves it around at herself, and leaves to go outside. At midnight on her 50th birthday, she dies.

External links

* [http://markzdanielewski.info/t50ys.html Exploration Z] - links to interviews, reviews, and some book scans


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • The Whalestoe Letters — Infobox Book name = The Whalestoe Letters title orig = translator = image caption = Cover to the first edition author = Mark Z. Danielewski cover artist = country = United States language = English series = genre = Epistolary Novella publisher =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Irish (in Countries Other Than Ireland) —     The Irish (in countries other than Ireland)     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Irish (in countries other than Ireland)     I. IN THE UNITED STATES     Who were the first Irish to land on the American continent and the time of their arrival are …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening — North American box art Developer(s) Nintendo EAD …   Wikipedia

  • The Carmelite Order —     The Carmelite Order     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► The Carmelite Order     One of the mendicant orders.     Origin     The date of the foundation of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel has been under discussion from the fourteenth century to …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • The Order (comics) — The Order is the name of two fictional comic book superhero teams in the Marvel Comics universe. The first team was a brief offshoot of the team Defenders, and the second is part of an initiative to place a superhero team in each state of the… …   Wikipedia

  • The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers — The Speeches at Prince Henry s Barriers, sometimes called The Lady of the Lake, is a masque or entertainment written by Ben Jonson in honor of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, the son and heir of King James I of England. The speeches were… …   Wikipedia

  • The Maid Freed from the Gallows — is one of many titles of a centuries old folk song about a condemned maiden pleading for someone to buy her freedom from the executioner. In the collection of ballads compiled by Francis James Child, it is indexed as Child Ballad number 95;… …   Wikipedia

  • The Pit and the Pendulum (radio) — The Pit and the Pendulum is a radio program from the American radio anthology series Radio Tales . The anthology series adapted classic works of American and world literature for the radio. The series was a recipient of numerous awards, including …   Wikipedia

  • The Gaorangers — nihongo| Where there is life, there is a roar of justice! Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger! |命あるところ、正義の雄叫びあり！百獣戦隊ガオレンジャー！|Inochi aru tokoro, seigi no otakebi ari! Hyakujū Sentai Gaorenjā!The Gaorangers are the fictional protagonists of the Japanese… …   Wikipedia

  • The Final Fantasy Legend — This article is about the 1989 Game Boy game. For the similarly named 2010 mobile game, see Final Fantasy Legends: Hikari to Yami no Senshi. The Final Fantasy Legend Developer(s) Square Publisher(s) …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”