Subject: (urth) 5HC inclusion

From: maa32 <maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 03:36:56 +0000

I was going to comment on the inclusion of Fifth Head of Cerberus in Mr. 
Gevers' fine article as well, Blattid, but then I decided against it.  Since 
you brought it up,  I am also sure it's not in the same "universe", but it 
does have some interesting thematic connections.  And I think it is the 
"hardest" single Wolfe novel around.  I just didn't get it the first time 
through - and you are spot on with the depressing aspect (oddly enough, I got 
the same feeling from Soldier of Arete, and a little from Urth of the New Sun, 
too.)
Too bad there are 12 novels in the Sun series (for sure): it screws up the 11 
stations of the Kaballah tree!  Damn you, Urth of the New Sun! Hey, a tree! 
The Briah cycle!  The trees are inescapable. I'll shut up now.

Speaking of depressing:
And anybody read the introduction to Wolfe's poetry collection, "For 
Rosemary"?  He really does seem sad most (or, a lot of)the time.  His personal 
comments are a strange mixture of extreme self-abnegation coupled with an 
obvious pride that sneaks out every once in a while.  Does he really believe 
what he writes won't get published?  Sometimes he sounds so sad, other times 
he makes comments like: "everything I write is great".  Remember that one 
essay in Castle of Days ( I think) where he talks about where he gets his 
inspiration from?  Waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat and 
realizing that your parents and your friends are long dead, calling out in 
dreams to a mother who can no longer hold you ... >  I have no training in 
psychology or anything, but sometimes I wonder if he is a happy guy.

Marc Aramini

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From: matthew.malthouse <matthew.malthouse at guardian.co.uk>
Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2002 11:14:54 +0000

On 11/04/2002 04:36:56 maa32 wrote:

[Advance warning, this is probably trivial nonsense  ;-) ]

>The Briah cycle!  The trees are inescapable. I'll shut up now.

12.

 5 + 4 + 3 which is neat.

Except that 4 + 1 + 4 + 3 ain't so.

But if we're counting, what's 'A Novel'?  If asked I'd have said that
TBotNS was a novel in four volumes, TUotNS in one, TBotLS in four and
TBotSS in three.

So 1 + 1 + 1 + 1

One might argue (although I would not) that Severian and Silk = 5 + 7.

In each multi volume case there's a contiguity of narative that makes them
single entities.  Contrast with Le Guin's Earthsea which I'd say was three
(now four) novels becasue although they all feature Ged, and in the first
'trilogy' he's the protagonist, they are not contiguous.

Matthew

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