Cues

adam louis stephanides · 24 May 1998, 14:56 · from urth-v0011.mbox · original

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From: adam louis stephanides <astephan at students.uiuc.edu>
Subject: (urth) Cues
Date: Sun, 24 May 1998 14:56:08
Message-ID: <urth-v0011-0098 at digest.urth.net>
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Quite aside from my own contributions, I enjoyed the discussion of
"Suzanne Delage."  It provided some variety from the discussions of a few
major works, especially BOTNS (not that I don't enjoy those); and it
allowed people to participate who don't have all the details of BOTNS
memorized and don't have time to reread it.

In this spirit, I'd like to see what people think about "Cues."  I
certainly wouldn't rank it with BOTNS, or even "Suzanne Delage"; but it
was selected for Wolfe's first collection (by Wolfe?) and I've always
found it somewhat puzzling.  My current take on it is that the "bowling
balls" are devils, or something of that ilk.  The not-so-young man's deal
is very much like selling his soul.  And the "bowling ball" is evasive
about its origins, lies (about having a sense of humor) and makes a
Freudian slip about "goblins" in the fourth paragraph.  But this doesn't
explain why the "bowling balls" perceive each other as "a fair young
world, mottled by clouds and rich with life."  And is there any
significance to the fact that in the next-to-last paragraph (the same one
in which that description occurs) Wolfe begins to refer to the "bowling
balls" as "he" rather than "it"?

Anyway, that's as far as I've gotten.  Anyone have any ideas?

--Adam

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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