Questions
Before you buy.
Why five volumes and not one file?
The novel is 2287 pages. Split the way the source text is divided, into five volumes, each file stays between 2.2 and 3.2 MB, which an e-ink reader opens and turns without waiting. Every volume has its own linked table of contents.
Which devices is it made for?
The e-ink files are 157 x 210 mm, the 3:4 proportion of the reMarkable 2, reMarkable Paper Pro, Kindle Scribe, Boox Note Air and Supernote A5 X2, so the page fills the screen without zooming. We have not opened the files on a physical device: the sample with the first three chapters is free, so you can try it on yours before you buy.
Is this the whole novel?
Yes. All 117 chapters, 2287 pages including the cover on page 1 of every volume, and the short set of editorial footnotes that the printed edition behind the transcription carries, kept at the end of volume 5. The check script compares every chapter with the source text word for word.
The text is free on Project Gutenberg. What am I paying for?
The typesetting. The same translation is available free of charge as an EPUB from Project Gutenberg and Standard Ebooks. Here you get PDFs made for an e-ink page: 13 pt serif, 22 lines to a page, no hyphenation, a 33 mm band at the foot of every page for notes with the pen that is also a fillable form field, so you write in it with the pen on an e-ink tablet or type into it on a computer in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview or Firefox, page numbers, a linked table of contents in each volume and a Contents link on every page.
How is the download protected?
By an unguessable address and nothing more. The files sit on ordinary static hosting under a folder name of 16 random characters, and after the payment this page shows you that address. Anyone who is given the address can open it, so it is not a lock. We say so here rather than pretend otherwise.
The unlock is remembered in this browser, so you can come back to this page later on the same device and the links are still here. Clearing the site data of this browser forgets it; keep the files once you have downloaded them.
Why buy here and not on Etsy?
The price is the same, 4.90 € either way. The difference is on our side: Stripe keeps 1.5 percent plus 0.25 € of the payment, Etsy about 10 percent, so buying here leaves more of your money with the people who made the book. If you would rather buy where your other purchases are, the Etsy listing is linked above and is exactly the same book.
Do I get a receipt?
Yes. Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. is the merchant of record: you buy from Stripe, which collects the payment, issues the receipt with VAT and settles the VAT, and ARLing supplies the files. If you are buying for a company, enter your VAT number in the checkout and the document is made out to the company.
Can I get my money back?
By law, no, and we would rather say it before you pay. Digital content delivered immediately with your consent carries no right of withdrawal: in Slovakia that is section 19 paragraph 1 letter m) of Act No. 108/2024 Coll. on consumer protection, and across the EU Article 16 letter m) of Directive 2011/83/EU. Clicking the payment button is that consent, because the files are shown at once.
That is the law, not our customer service. The sample is free precisely so you can decide before paying. If a file is broken or never arrived, write to andrej@arling.sk and we will fix it or send the money back, because that is a different thing from changing your mind.