Subject: Free Live Free by Wolfe

From: Ahab's soul <barnes.183 at osu.edu>
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 20:30:00 +0000

Just read this interesting little book.  Other Wolfe works I have read
include: 
Castleview
Pandora by Holly Hollander
Island of doctor death and other stories and other stories
BotNS (including epilogue)
Peace

_FLF_ is certainly an interesting book.  It is written in a way that makes
the book more of a page turner than many books out there but it isn't as
much of a page turner as _Castleview_.  The humor aspect (especially
involving the mental hospital nonsense) is quite new to me.  I can't
remember another Wolfe work with so much humor in it.  He does a good job
with the humor but it never reaches the quality of the humor in
_Confederacy of Dunces_, _Lolita_, _Don Quixote_, or _Master and the
Margarita_.  However, for a guy who may have been new to using humor in his
writing, one can't expect a classic of comic literature.

_FLF_ reminds me of _Castleview_ in that it goes from on distinct section
to a very distinct concluding section.  _Castleview_ goes from a
breathtaking, Scooby Doo mystery, with cliff hangers at every turn and
turns into something quite different in the last few pages.  _FLF_ goes
from the mystery phase (quite a different approach to mystery than in_PbHH_
or _Castleview_.  Maybe more like _PbHH_ than _C_) to the strange
conclusion phase.  I think the writing style shifts that occur at these
boundaries alone guaranteed that the novels would not become bestsellers.
Of course another thing that separates _C_ and _FLF_ from run-of-the-mill
mysteries or horror stories is the amount of wrapping up Wolfe does at the
end of each.  I was left feeling somewhat confused about events upon
finishing both books and plan to reread each of them to see if all they
need is a second reading.

A question I have is how much confusion he wants people to feel as they
complete these 2 books.  Does Wolfe just write for a more intelligent
reader than me?  Perhaps a person who can tie everything together in
his/her head would not find anything lacking upon reaching the final pages
of each book? Or could it be his goal to leave readers with a feeling that
there is more to the story than they have picked up.

Another question I have is what other Wolfe works are worth taking up?  I
have avoided the Long Sun books because they have been universally reviewed
as worse than BotNS.  A second reason is relates to the fact that
publishers seem so into pushing writers to create multi-volume fantasy
epics right now. I wonder if Wolfe is just cranking the 2 latest Sun sagas
to get cash (not bad in itself) but hasn't any real interest in creating
works of quality like his other material.

Any feedback on where to go in my reading of Wolfe would be appreciated.

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From: Ron Henry <ronhenry at clarityconnect.com>
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 21:13:37 +0000

Wolfe's multi-volume works might look, from the outside, like series
potboilers, but they're anything but. I just finished reading On Blue's
Waters, and I can testify that it's as smart, and in many ways as subtle,
as anything he's ever written. He seems really to have mastered the art of
deceptive simplicity - making a story look quite straightforward while
concealing all sorts of tricks and hints and foreshadowings. Wonderful
stuff to read.

His other books of short stories, Endangered Species and Storeys from the
Old Hotel, are well worth reading (as is, I presume, the new one, Strange
Travellers, which I have not yet gotten). I also enjoyed There Are Doors
and The Fifth Head of Cerberus, though both of these might take several
readings to fully appreciate (lots of very subtle clues and general
ambiguity about what's really going on and who is who).

Ron Henry

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From: Ahab's soul <barnes.183 at osu.edu>
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 22:08:02 +0000

ronhenry at clarityconnect.com wrote:

>I also enjoyed [snip] The Fifth Head of Cerberus, 

I almost picked this up at the book store the other day, but then it
occurred to me that I may have read it already.  Isn't there a short story
or novella in _The Island of Dr. Death & other Stories & Other stories_ by
this name?  If so, what is the relationship between what is in that
collection and the book that bears the same name?

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From: Andrea Leistra <aleistra at f1n7.u.arizona.edu>
Date: Wed, 22 Mar 2000 23:13:16 +0000

The novella "The Fifth Head of Cerebus" is the first of three linked
novellas in the book _The Fifth Head of Cerebus_.  The other two are "'A
Story,' by John V. Marsch" and "V.R.T".

Andrea Leistra

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From: Avram Grumer <avram at bigfoot.com>
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 18:08:57 +0000

And don't forget the New Sun of Estarcion books, currently in print as
_Church & Claw_, _Mothers & Shadows_, and _Guys of the New Sun_.  I loved
the scene where Severian climbs to the top of the House Absolute and tells
the faithful that they have to conquer the Ascians or the New Sun will
incinerate their nostril-hairs.

Avram Grumer

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From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 18:28:20 +0000

I really enjoyed Wolfe's Soldier books (Soldier of the Mist and Soldier of
Arete).  Fantasy set in ancient Greece, although Wolfe almost makes you
believe that he sees it as an historical adventure novel and that he
believes the Greek gods were real.

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From: Ahab's soul <barnes.183 at osu.edu>
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 19:21:59 +0000

Actually, I have read both Soldier novels and enjoyed them though I forgot
to mention in my initial post that they are among my Wolfe reads.  I hope
he gets around to finishing that series before he retires.  How many more
"Sun" books are on the drawing board?

I guess I will have to get the BotLS and BotSS series if so many Wolfe fans
are praising them.  I just noticed a BIG difference between the number of
awards his first series got and how well recieved the later ones were and
assumed that this meant that the other Sun sagas were of inferior material.

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From: CPars56235 <cpars56235 at aol.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2000 01:24:19 +0000

Odd that no one has mentioned _Peace_.
Wonderful storytelling.  Find it, read it, then do the dance.

Charles

SPOILER

It's a ghost story.  (What?  You though I was giving away secrets?)