a lurker asks a question

Adam Thornton · 30 Sep 2008, 14:55 · from 2008-September.txt.gz

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From: adam at io.com (Adam Thornton)
Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:55:23 -0500
Subject: (urth) a lurker asks a question
In-Reply-To: <9810F13BE98C4150848CCF5358CDC460@GATEWAY>
References: <620232.4000.qm at web59612.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
	<9810F13BE98C4150848CCF5358CDC460@GATEWAY>
Message-ID: <F9586CE5-4224-4B26-AF21-09FB9BE095AF at io.com>


On Sep 30, 2008, at 7:19 AM, James Wynn wrote:

> >Matt asks:
> >I love this scene, but other than the need for Severian to get the  
> books for Thecla,
> >I'm wondering what the Point is...What does this chapter contribute  
> to the story?
> >...What am I missing?  Surely there's more to it than that.
>
> When people mention to me that they feel something is going on under  
> the floorboards in this scene, I always direct them to this clause:
>
> "...quite suddenly I felt that he and I were dead, and the darkness  
> surrounding us was grave soil presing in about our eyes..."
>
> There is something being declared here in a Lupean way --  
> narratively or character development-wise -- but I'll be danged if I  
> know what it is.
>

Somewhere--and I don't remember where--Severian also recoils when  
seeing a particular book, because it seems to him like he's suddenly  
run across a rotting corpse.  Can someone point that citation out?  I  
think that ties in here somewhere too.

Adam
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