Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun (Spoilers possible)

Rick · 09 Feb 1986, 03:40 · from sf-lovers.1986.mbox

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From: ucdavis!ccrrick at caip.rutgers.edu (Rick)
Subject: Re: Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun (Spoilers possible)
Date: 9 Feb 86 03:40:11 GMT
Message-ID: <sflovers-v11-32-9 at digest.sf-lovers>
X-Digest-Issue: SF-LOVERS Digest V11 #32
X-Urthmirror-Source: https://archive.org/details/sf-lovers-digest-vol-11

I have read _The_Shadow_of_the_Torturer_, (first volume of
_The_Book_of_the_New_Sun), but in almost a year have yet to continue
with the rest of the book.  In general, I found the writing murky
and the tale rather disconnected.  I found that I learned very
little of the political system, social classes, economic systems or
even recent history.  This failure of Wolfe's to adequately inform
varies directly with my failure to be interested in his tale.

This seems to me to be particularly true in a story like this where
so many of the characters seem to be insane and therefore take
actions that appear illogical: Master Palaemon gives an extremely
valuable sword to a man who never seemed to interest him and who
ought to be sentenced to death.  Agia and Agilus are insanely
greedy, consider the bizarre excuses Agilus gives in the prison cell
when he argues to be spared.  The boatman is in a crazed state and
Dorcas suffers from amnesia.  The rationality of Dr. Talos,
Baldanders and the stuttering man seem questionable to me as well.

I understand that Wolfe wrote this book while employed at another
job and typically wrote during the early morning hours, shortly
after having awakened.  This probably accounts for the dreamlike
nature of the work, which many people seem to admire highly.  I am
less than enthusiastic about it; on the other hand, only reading the
first book is probably tantamount to turning off Beethoven's 5th
symphony in the middle of the second movement in terms of being fair
to the author's complete message...  But on the first hand, the
author has the responsibility to make the first story accessible
enough that the others will be read...  In time, I may re-read the
first book and give it another chance...

One thing that intrigues me is the theory that Severian has lived
this life before and that all the events depicted have been
experienced by Severian not once, but twice.  Anyone have any
thoughts or theories on this?  What made someone think of this
rather unique thought in the first place?  What evidence is there
for it?

rick heli

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