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Re: This (Reply to this comment)
by panguitch,  in Books
Or perhaps Darren Aronofsky.
Thanks,
Andy
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Aug 22 '07
8:45 am PDT
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This (Reply to this comment)
by George_Chabot,  in Books
sounds like a book Orson Welles would have liked and probably could have made a movie of. Good job, bud!
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Aug 21 '07
9:24 am PDT
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Re: After reading this book, (Reply to this comment)
by panguitch, in Books
Disorienting is a good word. Most SF tries to present us with characters we can identify with. People think the things and do the things that any of us might do or think or say in those situations.
But Wolfe presents something much more alien, but presents it so that we leave ourselves and come to inhabit his creation, whereas with most SF it's like we've merely donned a temporary mask, but are still quite ourselves.
-Andy
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Aug 16 '07
9:39 am PDT
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After reading this book, (Reply to this comment)
by dolphinboy
you feel that you have been somewhere else, in another time, and met people so unusual and complex, that it can be almost disorienting.
Excellent review! I have read all of Wolfe's Sun books (short, long, and new), and dream of writing as well as he does.
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Aug 15 '07
11:22 am PDT
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Re: Re: Well done (Reply to this comment)
by jacobeiserman
Even someone with a photographic memory will recount things so that the way in which they tell the story reveals as much about them as it does about the events.
That's what makes Wolfe rather unique...you won't find many sf/f writers who write with this perspective. I definitely think he isn't for everyone. I managed to get my brother into the New Sun books, but nothing else yet. I even find myself annoyed with Wolfe sometimes, particularly when he is being especially oblique.
I feel like The Book of the Long Sun, another tetralogy that is set in the same universe, has more of a chance at mainstream appeal even than this series, at least in the first few books. I'd be interested in seeing your thoughts on them too, if you get that far. (The other thing about Wolfe...it's hard, at least for me, to stay in his world for extended periods of time. I always need to take breaks in between.)
Matt
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Aug 14 '07
10:37 am PDT
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Re: Recommendations by... (Reply to this comment)
by panguitch, in Books
Not even as a Book of the New Sun omnibus edition? That's surprising. It's certainly his most recognized work.
I've read stories from him, but this is the first novel-length work I've read, so I can't recommend others.
Good luck in your search.
-Andy, Bibliophile domesticus
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Aug 14 '07
8:30 am PDT
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Re: Well done (Reply to this comment)
by panguitch, in Books
Yes, and the dispassion of Severian's account further lulls the reader into overconfidence in his reliability. We've grown accustomed to fictional characters wearing their hearts on their sleeves. But Severian definitely doesn't oblige us that way.
It's not caprice or deceit on his part. Instead it's very realistic--even someone with a photographic memory will recount things so that the way in which they tell the story reveals as much about them as it does about the events.
I think Wolfe is not for everyone. I myself am very easily turned off by highly "literary" writing, but Wolfe sucks me in as strongly as a pulp page-turner.
-Andy
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Aug 14 '07
8:26 am PDT
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Recommendations by... (Reply to this comment)
by asafono
Ms. LeGuin and Mr. Swanwick mean a lot to me. Surprisingly, the usually well stocked local library does not have any part of the tetralogy, but it does have a dozen or so books by this author.
academically domesticated
Priceless.
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Aug 14 '07
7:34 am PDT
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Well done (Reply to this comment)
by jacobeiserman
I am so glad to see this review. Gene Wolfe is one of my favourite authors, and I always find it hard to explain exactly why, especially when trying to recommend him to a friend.
There is a wealth of interesting analysis in your review, but I chose this line to comment on: "A most uncooperative narrator, he is reliable but stinting in passion, shocking purveyors of literary truisms by sometimes telling rather than showing."
What makes this story even more confusing and perversely addictive is that ultimately it's all telling and no showing...and Wolfe knows exactly what he's doing. By giving Severian the conceit of a perfect memory, he allows him to create the impression of an unbiased memoirist. But obviously Severian is very biased when he writes his own recollections, and the contradictions found in his story reveal more about his character than the apparent facts that he feeds us.
Of course, this translates into a commentary on the craft of writing itself, and turns this novel into metafiction. Just like all of Wolfe's works, it appears.
A wonderful review and I hope to see more of these from you.
Matt
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Aug 13 '07
4:12 pm PDT
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