?Tracking Song? (and other stories)

Transentient · 06 Jun 2007, 11:55 · from 2007-June.txt.gz

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From: transentient at gmail.com (Transentient)
Date: Wed, 6 Jun 2007 07:55:53 -0400
Subject: (urth) ?Tracking Song? (and other stories)
In-Reply-To: <C28C39C0.17069%J.A.Solomon at city.ac.uk>
References: <C28C39C0.17069%J.A.Solomon at city.ac.uk>
Message-ID: <5C692C00-9DD1-4CEE-9490-2CCDF15B47EA at gmail.com>

On Jun 6, 2007, at 5:15 AM, Solomon, Joshua wrote:

>> Matthew Groves wrote:
>>
>> Wolfe's underworld type-scene: Where does it come from, and what is
>> its significance?  We have it in "Tracking Song" (with the Min), in
>> the mine at Saltus in BotNS (with the ape men), in "The Eyeflash
>> Miracles" (Little Tib dreams of a cave with gnomes and a Gnome King.
>> Here, the reference is also to Munchkinland from _The Wizard of Oz_,
>> but they are in a *cave*, and the Gnome King made me think of Mantru
>> from "Tracking Song".)  I'm sure shows up in other places I haven't
>> noticed or don't remember.
>
> You may be onto something here, Matty. Caves also pop up in Fifth  
> Head. My
> memory of Fifth Head has degraded somewhat, but I think that the
> mythological abo (Sandwalker?) made a pilgrimage to one in "A  
> Story." This
> cave is a thematical doppleganger of Aunt Jeanine's basement room  
> in the
> first novella.
>

Wolfe often has his characters grope around in complete darkness.

A significant portion of one of the books in Long Sun is spent by a  
motley assortment of characters wandering around in completely  
lightless caves. One of them naked the entire time.

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