Realism, Thoughts, apologies,

Roy C. Lackey · 30 Apr 1999, 07:41 · from urth-v0026.mbox · original

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From: "Roy C. Lackey" <rclackey at stic.net>
Subject: (urth) Re:Realism, Thoughts, apologies,
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 1999 07:41:27
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Jonathan Laidlow wrote:

>>Now to Roy.
I apologise on behalf of academics everywhere - I never intended to
pigeonhole you or tar you with a broad brush. Unfortunately I did,
and must apologise, as I now realise that you are the originator of
the whole Jonas/Sidero/android classification thread. I think what I
wanted to do was try to draw you to  a point and explain to me what
it adds to our reading of the Urth cycle when we know what kind of
android he is - David's suggestion that he is the tin man is
fascinating - I just wanted to prompt the discussion onwards a little.
Similarly Potto's comment about Wolfe's 'subtle game of clues' leads
me to ask, what do the clues about Jonas tell us about the larger story?<<

    Apology accepted; enough said.

    What does the android thread add to the reading of the Urth cycle? Very
little, in and of itself. No more than the Boatman I & II, angels, Holy
Katharine, the mandragora, Cabalism, florigraphy (I'll be getting to that),
genealogies, or a hundred other threads. The threads have to be woven
together to form the tapestry to fully appreciate the beauty of the picture
they form. Wolfe's oblique writing style leaves little alternative to
untangling the skeins of the myriad mysteries in his works if they are to be
understood and appreciated. I thought that was what this list was all about.
If the answers were clear-cut, we wouldn't be here.

Roy



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