Subject: Questions about Book of the New Sun

From: j_mckitrick <j_mckitrick at bigfoot.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 01:46:35 +0000

Hi all,

I have been working my way through this book and loving it, but I'm
starting to get confused.  I just started Sword and Citadel.

1.  I don't get the vision Severian had on the roof with the witches.
2.  Why does he leave Thrax?
3.  When is all of this stuff going to come together?
4.  How are we to tell that he lies during his narrative?  Why would
he do so?

Thanks.  I am loving the book, but it's even tougher to follow than
Hyperion.

jonathon

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From: MPorcius <mporcius at aol.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 16:01:12 +0000

My advice is to just go with the flow, lots of stuff will be made more clear
later on, some other stuff won't.  I found reading _Book of the New Sun_ to be
a "project," like reading _In Search of Lost Time_, but like Proust, a project
that rewarded my efforts.  I have only read _Book of the New Sun_ once, but I
suspect it is very profitable to reread it, again like Proust, several volumes
of which I enjoyed more the second time around.  And don't be afraid to consult
the Oxford English Dictionary or google or something for those archaic words; I
found this helpful at times.

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From: Fish! (mmm Thecla) <tastyfish at fugu.com>
Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:26:41 +0000

> found this helpful at times. 

Make sure you read Urth of the New Sun when you've finished with the 
BotNS series.

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From: Mike Ward <m at d.w>
Date: Sat, 11 Sep 2004 14:48:14 +0000

>> My advice is to just go with the flow, lots of stuff will be made
>> more clear later on, some other stuff won't.  I found reading _Book
>> of the New Sun_ to be a "project," like reading _In Search of Lost
>> Time_, but like Proust, a project that rewarded my efforts.  I have
>> only read _Book of the New Sun_ once, but I suspect it is very
>> profitable to reread it, again like Proust, several volumes of which
>> I enjoyed more the second time around.  And don't be afraid to
>> consult the Oxford English Dictionary or google or something for
>> those archaic words; I found this helpful at times. 
>> 
> 
> 

Is it really neccessary.  I didn't think it was nearly as good and found it 
unneccessary.  And since I've read it I've almost forgot everything that 
happened in it even though I remember _The Book of the New Sun_ fine.

Mike

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From: GSV Three Minds in a Can <gsv at quik.clara.co.uk>
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 18:40:43 +0000

<snip>
>>From what I've heard, it really explains a LOT of what happened.  I'm
>waiting for mine to arrive in the mail.  Didn't you find you were left
>with a lot of questions at the end of BOTNS?

Yeah like

"Why did I bother to read all the volumes" and

"How come Wolfe's dictionary has got more words in than mine, I'm using 
the Shorter Oxford already, fer crisakes" and

"What was this doing in the Science Fiction section"...

8>.

-- 
GSV   Three Minds in a Can
Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.

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From: David Bilek <dtbilek at comcast.net>
Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2004 19:05:56 +0000

>"Why did I bother to read all the volumes" and

Because it's perhaps the most seminal work of literary Science Fiction
ever written.

>the Shorter Oxford already, fer crisakes" and

He's a bright, literate guy.  Use the full Oxford!

>"What was this doing in the Science Fiction section"...

It's set in the far future and involves things like spaceships, time
travel, and lasers?

-David