Suzanne Delage again, kind of

David Duffy · 19 Dec 2011, 22:29 · from 2011-December.txt.gz

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From: David.Duffy at qimr.edu.au (David Duffy)
Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2011 08:29:18 +1000 (EST)
Subject: (urth) Suzanne Delage again, kind of
In-Reply-To: <2C05608CA4454E0486837C942C51E3B5@Rover>
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Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.4.64.1112200803480.11712 at orpheus.qimr.edu.au>

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011, Gerry Quinn wrote:

>
>
> From: David Duffy
>
>> Adam Robert's _Land of the Headless_ (2007) has his protagonist fall
>> heavily for _Siuzan Delage_.  Some have thought it a nod to Proust, but
>> the plot I think is more a riff on Wolfe (among other things).

> Roberts has reviewed Wolfe extensively. I think it's a safe bet that 
> he *knows* Wolfe's _Suzanne Delage_
...
>  That said, I don't think it is 
> likely to be any sort of direct assault either, simply because a 
> character who appears offstage in a short story isn't much of a jumping 
> ground for any kind of assault.  I wouldn't be surprised, though, if 
> there is some implication that the idealisation of women is a form of 
> oppression.  Pure speculation, though, as I haven't read it.

No. The protagonist is an apparently sincere follower of a future 
syncretic monotheistic ("Biblqur'an") religion in a Islamic style culture 
with some segregation of the sexes.  Suizan is a "zealot" who assists 
released criminals, and spends time unchaperoned with such low-life as the 
narrator.

> [I've read _On_ and _Salt_ by Roberts.  _On_ was okay but a bit too 
> consciously postmodern and clever.  I liked _Salt_ a lot, though.] - 
> Gerry Quinn

I have bounced off a couple of his books, but generally enjoy his writing 
(his blog has some snot-producingly funny reviews eg from his push to read 
the _Wheel of Time_ straight through).

Cheers, David Duffy.

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