"Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe

soloviev at irit.fr · 05 May 2011, 18:01 · from 2011-May.txt.gz

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From: soloviev at irit.fr (soloviev at irit.fr)
Date: Thu, 5 May 2011 20:01:28 +0200 (CEST)
Subject: (urth) "Realistic fiction leaves out too much." - Gene Wolfe
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Dear Jerry,

it is interesting to compare our impressions - I've read with
great interest "The Dispossessed". I found the psychological
portrait of an Anarchist society quite deep. For me, it was
a good example of literary experiment in the domain of politics,
my impression was that central theme is a sort of "deconstruction"
of Anarchist ideal. I.e., whether a complete freedom (without
destroying the others, and keeping a form of a society is truly
possible). Other societies in "TD" were for me less convincing,
almost caricatural.

I would like to remark (to the list) that since I've grown up in
the USSR (and was living there continuously until my 34),
I may have a particular interest in this sort of book as an observer.
So, to me in TD there is no convincing image of soviet-style
society.

By the way, I didn't like much the Orvell's "1984" (I did like
the Animal Farm). The reason - "Animal Farm" is presented as abstract,
symbolic fiction, and it seems almost perfect symbol.
The "1984" contains many details that were not convincing,
even as a possible development of the society in the USSR.
It was still very good
as a scheme, on the level of abstract ideas (language in "1984",
inner Party, etc), but not in realistic details.

My guess concerning the opinion of Gene Wolfe about "TD"
is that a)he may not like these experiments with politics
and b)as any good writer with his own agenda he needs sometimes
to be harsh on fellow writers to define better his own "method"
(define by opposition).

All the best

Sergei Soloviev

>> From: Jeff Wilson <jwilson at io.com>
>
>> On 4/30/2011 2:30 PM, Gwern Branwen wrote:
>> > On Sat, Apr 30, 2011 at 12:56  PM, Jeff Wilson<jwilson at io.com>  wrote:
>> >>  I've seen this part of the interview before, somehow...
>> >
>> > It's  been quoted at least once before:
>> >  http://www.urth.net/whorl/archives/v0012/0558.shtml
>> >
>> > It's a  great quip and sums up a lot of people's impression of _The
>> >  Dispossessed_ (at least, it did mine), so I suspect it's been alluded
>> > to  or quoted before in other places.
>
> Very different from my impression, though I don't think it's a flawless
> book by
> any means.  What book was a previous version of it?  And which planet did
> Wolfe
> think was Russia?
>
>
>> Yeah, I know that feeling. I read,  "Those Walk Away From Omelas," and
>> thought,
>>"This is supposed to be some kind of  utopian/dystopian comment? Thhese
>> people
>>have this tremendously prosperous,  liberal, industrialized society with
>> the
>>only externality being train smoke and  the lower classes shrunk to a
>> single
>>person! Boy, are those people walking away  in for a surprise."
>
> Unlike /The Dispossessed/, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" isn't
> about
> practicalities.  I'd say it's a dramatization of the William James
> quotation
> about morality and moral feelings.
>
> Since I assume Catholicism is on topic here, I hope I can compare it to
> another
> quotation:
>
> "The Catholic Church holds it better for the sun and moon to drop from
> heaven,
> for the earth to fail, and for all the many millions on it to  die of
> starvation
> in extremest agony, as far as temporal affliction goes, than that one
> soul, I
> will not say should be lost, but should commit one single venial sin,
> should
> tell one wilful untruth, or should steal one poor farthing without
> excuse."
>
> --Cardinal Newman, /Apologia Pro Vita Sua/
>
> Jerry Friedman
>
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