-
For what it's worth, it could also mean that Wolfe finds violence against women particularly horrifying. An author's purpose is to impact and move the reader. As such, it's nat…
20 Oct 2006, 21:56
-
There weren't thousands more. Our biology was defined through thousands of years of living in small tribes where survival of the self and of the tribe was constantly in questio…
20 Oct 2006, 11:41
-
It seems not all women agrees with you: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/core/Content/displayPrintable.jhtml?xml=/arts/2006/09/14/bamen14.xml&site=6&page=0 As the above will almost cer…
19 Oct 2006, 21:59
-
So you suspect Agatha Christie of harboring a secret desire to murder? I'd shudder to hear what you must suspect of Stephen King and Clive Barker. :-)…
19 Oct 2006, 11:13
-
To tie this into another recent thread, does it matter what his intent is? The story stands or falls on its own merits, not the author's intent. If intent does matter, then, wh…
18 Oct 2006, 20:50
-
The Death of Doctor Island was published in 1973. You don't think misogyny was common then? Wolfe may use fictional environments but that doesn't at all mean that his works don…
18 Oct 2006, 11:57
-
It seems to me that there is an unavoidable connotation of disapproval and an associated blame or culpability when one describes an action (or the result of an action) as offensi…
17 Oct 2006, 21:50
-
Which, true or not, doesn't at all change the fact that his stories are powerful arguments against racism.…
17 Oct 2006, 16:06
-
And Sam Clemons was really fond of including racist characters and situations in his.…
17 Oct 2006, 11:20
-
No question that the story is disturbing. If the story doesn't disturb you, then you have serious problems. But there's a great deal of difference between calling a story distu…
17 Oct 2006, 02:50
-
Misogyny on the part of Wolfe or the part of characters in the story? If the former, I'm not sure what you're referring to, particularly if you take into account that the story …
17 Oct 2006, 02:32
-
Care to expound on why you find it offensive?…
16 Oct 2006, 17:00
-
You don't think that the kid was redeemed by his experiences? What does the Judge mean when he tells the kid he failed him? Why do they part ways as they do? Why does the book…
05 Oct 2006, 00:11
-
Just to set the record straight, I've found out that Bloom did not write the essay as an introduction to the book. It's part of a longer work which discusses several novels. Th…
01 Oct 2006, 12:57
-
Still off topic but these comments intrigued me, and so I purchased the book. First, I have to agree that it's an excellent novel. I thought the kid was as interesting as the J…
23 Sep 2006, 14:55
-
Which brings us back full circle to the point I originally made - that there is a significant difference in relying on the author as an authority when one is trying to appreciate…
22 Sep 2006, 22:13
-
Perhaps to use precisely as he used it - to give out as markers.…
19 Sep 2006, 02:03
-
I largely agree with you on this, but I would add that one needs to distinguish between the symbolism/message of a text, and the actual events the text describes. What started t…
10 Sep 2006, 13:12
-
I think seeing Sev as a direct parallel to Jesus is a mistake. Certainly, he is in some sense a Messiah figure but I think that's he's both more and less. More, in that there a…
09 Sep 2006, 13:22
-
Or perhaps it was a test to SEE if his loyalty to the guild would hold. If he got through this, he could be trusted with anything. If not, then he obviously wasn't cut out for …
08 Sep 2006, 19:51
-
Who do you think the Shadow People are? I took it that they were the abos in their natural state.…
07 Sep 2006, 00:08
-
I recently moved and my books are still packed, so I can't research this myself at the moment, but what's the reason for assuming that Thecla takes over mid sentence? Why can't …
23 Aug 2006, 21:56
-
One of the best piece of advice I've ever heard IRT Wolfe. Wolfe is deep, allegorical and full of allusions and puzzles. But every well has a bottom and the human brain is a ma…
09 Aug 2006, 00:52
-
I've just grabbed a whole handful of his other (ie non-solar) stuff. 5thHoC was incredible, everything I'd expect from Wolfe. _The Island of Doctor Death..._ was equally impres…
31 Jul 2006, 11:40
-
Of course not. It's a central issue of the book. Why do you find this surprising? How much knowledge and interest does the average American have about the Native American India…
28 Jul 2006, 10:20
-
I think, if one considers the entire book and not just V.R.T, that there is a great deal of evidence that the abos did exist and were actual shape changers. Really? I guess I'…
27 Jul 2006, 21:47
-
Who (or what) is it that you think the Shadow Children are?…
27 Jul 2006, 18:11
-
I see very little evidence for the above suppositions. I think that, with Wolfe, it's easy to get so wrapped up in uncovering clues and secrets that one starts to see things whe…
26 Jul 2006, 18:44
-
It's vastly different subject matter but a chain of events just led me to the Wikipedia article for a Rock band called Tool. Take a look at that article, particularly section 3,…
04 Jul 2006, 12:10
-
It's been pointed out that you would need permission to copy anyone's post. If you're not comfortable with your writing being posted under whatever license is in effect, then do…
03 Jul 2006, 17:17
-
I'd say just take the bull by the horns and start doing it. I've been tempted to do so myself but I really didn't want to step on anyone's toes by highjacking their idea. The o…
27 Jun 2006, 11:16
-
I think you're confusing the concept of a wiki with Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a wiki implementation of an encyclopedia. It primarily deals with facts, and strives to be correct. …
24 Jun 2006, 21:10
-
It's not like there's a coherent, monolithic movement, and I've read similar arguments to those. But there are those who dismiss the BoTNS as torture fetishism and The Wizard/Kn…
13 Jun 2006, 21:48
-
I don't think the charge is that his _style_ is pretentious, but that his work itself is.…
13 Jun 2006, 11:19
-
You must be referring to the Concise OED DVD. I haven't seen the OED Single User Edition for under $400.…
12 Jun 2006, 22:06
-
Interestingly enough, pretentiousness is one of the charges that is frequently leveled at both Donaldson and Wolfe.…
12 Jun 2006, 11:07
-
Interesting. I would expect a great deal of cross-over. While there are certainly some very pronounced differences between them, I see similarities as well. Both bring intelli…
11 Jun 2006, 02:52
-
I whiled away a lot of hours thanks to Gary. (For those who may not be familiar with him, he's the author/inventor of the original Dungeons and Dragons game.) And his writing..…
11 Jun 2006, 02:32
-
I fail to understand this. Certainly, I have no problem with you not liking Donaldson. The world would be a boring place indeed if we all had the same tastes and opinions. But …
10 Jun 2006, 13:14
-
I enjoyed the first series, but wasn't nearly as fond of the second. I don't think Covenant is nearly as good as the Gap series, however. I find it rather humorous that Donalds…
10 Jun 2006, 12:36
-
Why would you assume that many here disdain him?…
09 Jun 2006, 22:43
-
I, for one, would find it extremely beneficial if you'd quote what, exactly, you think it is that's a good point. There's been so many messages flowing in here lately that it's …
31 May 2006, 22:19
-
Or, if you want fiction, try Umberto Eco's _Focault's Pendulum_.…
25 May 2006, 11:23
-
I'm rather at a loss as to why you'd apologize for discussing Wolfe's works on a mailing list devoted to discussing Wolfe's works. It's email. If someone is offended or bored w…
23 May 2006, 21:46
-
Not exactly dinner table conversation, is it? However, considering the copious amount of semen that would be produced and the fact that the female is disrobed, I think it quite …
20 May 2006, 18:05
-
Scary? Probably not the adjective I would have chosen but it certainly demonstrates that Wolfe doesn't necessarily consider gross discrepancies in size to be a barrier to mating…
19 May 2006, 23:20
-
Perhaps the approach is something like this: "Disrobed, I will love it as if it were a dwarfish man. I will draw staring eyes and a smiling mouth. I will anoint it with sweet o…
19 May 2006, 22:24
-
I always thought it was a Talus, but I can't recall at the moment what convinced me of that.…
19 May 2006, 22:17
-
Cattle have cloven hooves, too. Ten fingers, four hoof-parts(1), two horns, one pizzle. 17. Would have worked out nicely. Too bad reality had to intrude. (1) What's the wo…
19 May 2006, 22:15
-
This is one of the advantages of a Wiki. If you read something presented as fact that you feel isn't proven, just do a quick edit to insert a few "Some people think..." and "It …
10 May 2006, 11:31
Urth Net