While I generally agree that Wolfe shares a certain evasiveness with his brother Coyote, I will grumblingly point out that in the THRUST and James's interviews are consistent at least in clarifying that Weer is dead. No, Wolfe's random comments are not authoritative over the text -- if only because the text is what it is and not what he intended, a statement anyone who has ever worked seriously at any art will understand -- but I suggest that a reasonably consistent point of view, not inconsistent with the text, has a certain degree of cachet.
In the meanwhile I'm still trying to put together a more detailed tabulation on the five parts. Perhaps someone can help with two points?
1. The titles. I note this trend:
"Alden Dennis Weer" -- very specific
"Olivia" -- still pretty specific but having a sort
of vagueness, in that (a) the first name is
constant while she will later change her last
name to "Smart; and (b) it also seems, as
several folks have pointed out, to refer to the
olive branch of peace.
"The Alchemist" -- definitely ambiguous; Smart or
Tilly? (And why "Alchemist" rather than
"Chemist?")
"Gold" -- very ambiguous; refers to a whole family
and to the "gold hunt" and to the product
of the alchemical process above.
Then we come to "The President," which seems to jump
back to specificity. Is there something I'm missing here?
2. Since we're talking geography, does anyone want to make
any suggestions about a geographical pattern for the five
parts?
--Dan'l
who envies Gilbert his access to the source