Forlesen

Derek Bell · 24 Jun 1998, 22:05 · from urth-v0015.mbox · original

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From: Derek Bell <dbell at maths.tcd.ie>
Subject: Re: (urth) Forlesen
Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 23:05:40 +0100
Message-ID: <urth-v0015-0011 at digest.urth.net>
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In message <199806242019.NAA25047 at lists1.best.com>, Michael Straight writes:
>Ack.  People keep referring to this novella and I've got a note somewhere
>about how much I liked it, but I can't remember what it's about.  Could
>someone please e-mail me a brief something to jog my memory?

	It's about a guy who wakes up in a house, meets a woman who is
his wife, glances through the manuals for his life, goes to work and
his whole life is short, over before he can take control of it. It's
been described as Kafkaesque, which is appropriate, though the
authority in question is the one that supplies the "manuals" (for want
of a better word) and makes the rules. Oh, the main characters' job
seems particularly strange and pointless, with (other) people showing
great enthusiasm for something that isn't quite clear. (It's either a
course in motivation, a course in managment, a game or all three.)

	It reminds me of Heideggers' "throwness of being".

	Derek

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