{
  "export": {
    "source": "https://urth.darkrealm.vip/thread/urth/15",
    "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": 15,
    "subject": "Digest urth.v001.n0",
    "messages": 1,
    "voices": 1,
    "first": "1997-04-18T17:24:00+00:00",
    "last": "1997-04-18T17:24:00+00:00"
  },
  "messages": [
    {
      "message_id": "<urth-v0001-0020@digest.urth.net>",
      "from": {
        "name": "m.driussi",
        "address": "m.driussi at genie.com"
      },
      "date": "1997-04-18T17:24:00+00:00",
      "subject": "(urth) Re: Digest urth.v001.n0",
      "in_reply_to": null,
      "reply_link": null,
      "blocks": [
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "Reply:  Item #3759208 from URTH at LISTS.BEST.COM@INET#\n\n(Q&D count down: 11 remaining)\n\nRaster makes some good points.  The question, as he interprets it,\nbecomes one of comparing and contrasting the outer most narrative\nframe tales of TBOTNS and URTH.\n\nIn TBOTNS, the frame tale is that this story is all written, ala\nGravius Cladius <g>, in the wee hours of autarchial free time; the\nentire story is hologrammically contained in the first chapter--the\nbeginning and ending are given, what remains to be seen over the\ncourse of the remaining four volumes is the seemingly miraculous process\nthat allows such a humble beginning and lofty ending to be possible."
        },
        {
          "kind": "quote",
          "depth": 1,
          "text": "From time to time Severian reminds us that he is sitting there, writing\nit out in vermilion ink, etc.; and mentions daily happenings at the\ncourt that tie back into the narrative thread. Then there is the\ntranslator's frame tale, rather like Tolkien's trick of claiming to be\ntranslating THE RED BOOK OF WESTMARCH, which provides a rationale on how\nsaid manuscript made it to Earth."
        },
        {
          "kind": "text",
          "depth": 0,
          "text": "OTOH, URTH is not structured as a memoir, nor does it have a\ntranslator's frame tale; it has a more conventional, action novel\nstructure, which is handy for a number of reasons.  (For one: it\nwould really reduce the impact of the pyramid scene late in the book\nif Severian imitated the first chapter of TBOTNS and started URTH\nwith, \" . . . and so I became a god.  Not bad for a dead man.\")\nWhere URTH is being written remains vague--a bower of trees.  How it\nis being \"written,\" what is going on around Severian as the writing\nis taking place, how the manuscript is getting to Earth (\"Gridley\nWave,\" perhaps? <g>), etc., are all ignored by the text.\n\nAs a result, where TBOTNS is looking backwards, URTH is looking ahead.\n\n=mantis="
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}