Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun

Kim Helliwell · 27 Jan 1986, 22:25 · from sf-lovers.1986.mbox

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From: analog!kim at caip.rutgers.edu (Kim Helliwell )
Subject: Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun
Date: 27 Jan 86 22:25:37 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v11-28-5 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V11 #28
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-11

I've seen several kudos on this newsgroup for Gene Wolfe's Book of
the New Sun, and they nearly always prompt the following train of
thought in my mind:

What is it that you who love it (and read and re-read it avidly) see
in it that I am missing?  I've made it to the end of the second
volume, the one which ends with the invitation to journey further
with the protagonist, but does not blame the reader if he chooses
not to--saying "it is no easy journey".  Even up to that point it is
no easy journey, so I've paused long to consider whether I want to
go any further!

I must be missing some crucial point--is it something that will come
clear if I go on, or would the net advise me to abandon it because,
"if you have to ask, you ain't never going to know!"

If someone could explain in his own words what it is that Wolfe is
trying to do with this work, it might help.

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