The Urth of the New Sun

Daniel Fusch · 06 Nov 1999, 19:09 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: "Daniel Fusch" <dfusch at hotmail.com>
Subject: (urth) The Urth of the New Sun
Date: Sat, 06 Nov 1999 11:09:42 PST
Message-ID: <urth-v0028-0410 at digest.urth.net>
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Tim,

I don't think The Urth of the New Sun is a mistake, but it is clearly not t=
o=20
be taken as a sequel to The Book of the New Sun. (Now I know somebody is=20
going to say--But Severian says its a sequel!--but that's not good enough.)

The Urth of the New Sun is not a sequel; it is a parallel narrative. The=20
Book is a cyclical narrative; The Urth is a fixed and linear narrative, wit=
h=20
a precise beginning and a precise ending. The ending does not flow back to=20
the beginning, and vice versa.

The Urth of the New Sun also has a different narrator. Oh, he has the same=20
name--Severian--but he can not be treated as the same character. First, he=20
regresses in his character development back to the Severian of volume III o=
f=20
The Book of the New Sun. In the fourth volume, he had developed in terms of=20
his morality (see his confrontation with Vodalus, his reaction to Dr. Talos=
'=20
counterfeit coin, and his union with Valeria), his sense of justice (see hi=
s=20
reunion with Palaemon), and indeed his entire philosophy of life (see the=20
scene by the sea). When we get to The Urth of the New Sun, we find a=20
Severian who is morally and philosophically the Severian of two books past.

The scope and scale of the narratives is also sharply different. The Book o=
f=20
the New Sun has an epic structure paired with an odd form of bildungsroman,=20
beginning in media res. The Urth of the New Sun is a more straightforward=20
heroic romance.

I don't have the time to expand this further, but it is something I've been=20
thinking about. Consider that The Urth of the New Sun is to The Book of the=20
New Sun what Paradise Regained is to Paradise Lost--a shorter, parallel wor=
k=20
(not a sequel) with a smaller scale and scope. All of Paradise Regained is=20
already contained in Paradise Lost, which spans all creation from its=20
beginning (indeed, from before that dawn of time) to the final redemption o=
f=20
humanity. All of the Urth of the New Sun is already contained in The Book o=
f=20
the New Sun, which is not a linear narrative, but rather one which reaches=20
back both into the past and forward into the future.

So The Urth of the New Sun should really be treated as a separate narrative=
.=20
And it may be that you will enjoy it more in light of that.

--Daniel

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