Subject: (urth) Free Live Free

From: David Wells <adw at ovum.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 10:06:48 +0000

CRCulver at aol.com <mailto:CRCulver at aol.com>  wrote:
> 
> For some reason, there has been not a single post over the last week. So,
to
> get some more activity, I'll ask for a review of the Wolfe book FREE LIVE
> FREE. Is it worth buying? What style is it? I'd also like to know the
basic
> plot, as long as it doesn't spoil too much.

I too found it very hard going indeed. It seemed to me like a writing
exercise which had gotten out of hand to the tune of 500 pages or so (it
seemed that long, anyway). Somewhere in Book of Days, Wolfe suggests that
even a short story should have more than one idea, and that novels should
have many. Free Live Free seemed to me to be too much of a one-trick-pony.

In terms of style/plot (and trying not to spoil too much)
-	there is a Good Reason why Wolfe spends so much time in the first
few hundred pages describing the rather sad and humdrum lives of some
not-terribly appealing characters. The big question is whether having
struggled through this, you think the payoff is worth it. As is probably
apparent, I didn't.
-	The whole book (and I don't think this is really a spoiler unless
you've read it!) is essentially an allegory about the properties of
composite materials. Yes, I do think this a weird thing to write a novel
about ;-).

newt

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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From: Tony Ellis <tony.ellis at futurenet.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 14:11:20 +0000

> composite materials. Yes, I do think this a weird thing to write a novel

No offence intended, but having read Free Live Free several times, I
can't for the life of me see how you arrive at this conclusion! I'm
intrigued - could you explain, please?

John Clute says that it's a re-telling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
and I can certainly see that. 

To throw in my two pence, I have always found Free Live Free
fascinating, funny, and - far from being a one-trick-pony - packed with
ideas and unusual insights. Christopher R. Culver asked in his original
post "what style is it", and I would respond that one of this novel's
great strengths is that it doesn't fit into any one pigeonhole. Like
"Titus Groan" it's one of those books you can give to someone and say
with total confidence "this isn't like anything else you've read
before".

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From: Michael Straight <straight at email.unc.edu>
Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 10:45:10 +0000

> struggled through this, you think the payoff is worth it. As is probably

While I agree that that the payoff at the end was not as satisfying as I'd
hoped (too abrupt: maybe I didn't understand everything, but I think Wolfe
has a tendency to wimp out by hinting at a happy ending instead of trying
to show us one--which is a lot harder to pull off), I enjoyed the book
overall. 

I'm not usually a fan of humdrum, "realistic" characters, but somehow
Wolfe got me interested in these four. There are some good hooks in the
begining (What kind of story IS this?  Is she really a witch?) and I
thought the hijinks (there's no other word for it) in the middle of the
book were fun. 

Somehow, the tone of the book reminds me a lot of _There Are Doors_.  Do
you it's just that they both have a contemporary setting?

> composite materials. Yes, I do think this a weird thing to write a novel

Ha!  I think you're joking, but it's a good joke.  Wolfe is an engineer,
after all.  Are you refering to anything besides the effects of Free's
device?  Tell us more with spoiler warnings!

-Rostrum