{ "export": { "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/1110", "note": "Exported from an unofficial mirror of a public mailing list. Copyright in each message remains with the person who wrote it. Email addresses are obscured as `user at host`, the form the original archive published. This file was rebuilt from parsed fields rather than retained headers, so it is faithful in content but not byte-exact.", "addresses": "obscured as 'user at host'" }, "archive": "urth", "thread": { "id": 1110, "subject": "Free Live Free", "messages": 3, "voices": 3, "first": "1998-09-23T10:06:48+00:00", "last": "1998-09-23T14:11:20+00:00" }, "messages": [ { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "David Wells", "address": "adw at ovum.com" }, "date": "1998-09-23T10:06:48+00:00", "subject": "(urth) Free Live Free", "in_reply_to": null, "reply_link": null, "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "CRCulver at aol.com wrote:\n\nFor some reason, there has been not a single post over the last week. So,\nto\nget some more activity, I'll ask for a review of the Wolfe book FREE LIVE\nFREE. Is it worth buying? What style is it? I'd also like to know the\nbasic\nplot, as long as it doesn't spoil too much." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "I too found it very hard going indeed. It seemed to me like a writing\nexercise which had gotten out of hand to the tune of 500 pages or so (it\nseemed that long, anyway). Somewhere in Book of Days, Wolfe suggests that\neven a short story should have more than one idea, and that novels should\nhave many. Free Live Free seemed to me to be too much of a one-trick-pony.\n\nIn terms of style/plot (and trying not to spoil too much)\n-\tthere is a Good Reason why Wolfe spends so much time in the first\nfew hundred pages describing the rather sad and humdrum lives of some\nnot-terribly appealing characters. The big question is whether having\nstruggled through this, you think the payoff is worth it. As is probably\napparent, I didn't.\n-\tThe whole book (and I don't think this is really a spoiler unless\nyou've read it!) is essentially an allegory about the properties of\ncomposite materials. Yes, I do think this a weird thing to write a novel\nabout ;-).\n\nnewt" } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Tony Ellis", "address": "tony.ellis at futurenet.co.uk" }, "date": "1998-09-23T14:11:20+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Free Live Free", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "David Wells wrote:\n- The whole book (and I don't think this is really a spoiler unless\nyou've read it!) is essentially an allegory about the properties of\ncomposite materials. Yes, I do think this a weird thing to write a novel\nabout ;-)." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "No offence intended, but having read Free Live Free several times, I\ncan't for the life of me see how you arrive at this conclusion! I'm\nintrigued - could you explain, please?\n\nJohn Clute says that it's a re-telling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,\nand I can certainly see that. \n\nTo throw in my two pence, I have always found Free Live Free\nfascinating, funny, and - far from being a one-trick-pony - packed with\nideas and unusual insights. Christopher R. Culver asked in his original\npost \"what style is it\", and I would respond that one of this novel's\ngreat strengths is that it doesn't fit into any one pigeonhole. Like\n\"Titus Groan\" it's one of those books you can give to someone and say\nwith total confidence \"this isn't like anything else you've read\nbefore\"." } ] }, { "message_id": "", "from": { "name": "Michael Straight", "address": "straight at email.unc.edu" }, "date": "1998-09-23T10:45:10+00:00", "subject": "Re: (urth) Free Live Free", "in_reply_to": "", "reply_link": "subject", "blocks": [ { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "On Wed, 23 Sep 1998, David Wells wrote:\nIn terms of style/plot (and trying not to spoil too much)\n-\tthere is a Good Reason why Wolfe spends so much time in the first\nfew hundred pages describing the rather sad and humdrum lives of some\nnot-terribly appealing characters. The big question is whether having\nstruggled through this, you think the payoff is worth it. As is probably\napparent, I didn't." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "While I agree that that the payoff at the end was not as satisfying as I'd\nhoped (too abrupt: maybe I didn't understand everything, but I think Wolfe\nhas a tendency to wimp out by hinting at a happy ending instead of trying\nto show us one--which is a lot harder to pull off), I enjoyed the book\noverall. \n\nI'm not usually a fan of humdrum, \"realistic\" characters, but somehow\nWolfe got me interested in these four. There are some good hooks in the\nbegining (What kind of story IS this? Is she really a witch?) and I\nthought the hijinks (there's no other word for it) in the middle of the\nbook were fun. \n\nSomehow, the tone of the book reminds me a lot of _There Are Doors_. Do\nyou it's just that they both have a contemporary setting?" }, { "kind": "quote", "depth": 1, "text": "-\tThe whole book (and I don't think this is really a spoiler unless\nyou've read it!) is essentially an allegory about the properties of\ncomposite materials. Yes, I do think this a weird thing to write a novel\nabout ;-)." }, { "kind": "text", "depth": 0, "text": "Ha! I think you're joking, but it's a good joke. Wolfe is an engineer,\nafter all. Are you refering to anything besides the effects of Free's\ndevice? Tell us more with spoiler warnings!\n\n-Rostrum" } ] } ] }