PW's review of STRANGE TRAVELERS

Patri10629 · 21 Dec 1999, 15:38 · from urth-v0028.mbox · original

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From: Patri10629 at aol.com
Subject: (urth) PW's review of STRANGE TRAVELERS
Date: Tue, 21 Dec 1999 10:38:19 EST
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In a message dated 12/20/99 10:31:35 PM, Publisher's Weekly is quoted:

<<... there are also several tasteless and misogynistic entries. Chief amon=
g=20
them is "The Ziggurat," in which a mother coaches her daughters in the art =
of=20
false accusation and the father--whose wife leaves him broke--eventually=20
regains all by finding a woman he can dominate and a technology he can stea=
l.=20
All too frequently in this volume, even when women show men 'the pleasures =
of=20
Hell," biting them till they bleed, men emerge loutish and triumphant. >>

PW was right to characterize the collection as disturbing. It certainly is.

I read an advance copy and blurbed it thusly: "Strange Travelers reads like=20
an artifact of magic--something hidden, stumbled upon, irresistible and=20
dangerous. A book of nightmares too beautiful to be true, too real to be=20
denied, too vivid to be forgotten. Why doesn't everyone know Gene Wolfe is=20
the best writer alive?"

So. You see.

I am flabbergasted by their take on "The Ziggurat" which I believe is a=20
classic story. One of the most beautiful and moving short stories I have ev=
er=20
read.
In its defense I'll say: A portrait of a hateful character (the wife) is no=
t=20
the same thing as a polemic about misogyny. The husband, while sympathetic,=20
is no perfect hero and not just a woman hater. One would have to ignore his=20
relationships to his daughters to come to that conclusion.  And PW's=20
interpretation of the ending leaves out levels of ambiguity that are critic=
al=20
to the story. This female alien (which he "adopts") is one of a group that=20
killed his son and pet coyote and kidnapped his daughter and tried to kill=20
him. Is it not some great leap of empathy, some form of redemption that the=20
man binds her wound, attempts to heal her, protect her, and make a place in=20
his life for her? Why no mention of the implication that the alien may be=20
manipulating him? Why no mention of the alien humming "God Save The Queen"?=20
The irony, and humor, and implications of that? Why not say it is a first=20
stumbling attempt between two hostile alien species (Male and female?) at=20
some imperfect form of reconciliation and empathy? Yes, this "female" is=20
totally dependent on him, and he feels comfortable in the old-fashioned mal=
e=20
as protector role. Yes, that is pathetic. But it is one of many things=20
swirling around in the ending. Wolfe is never just anything.  And it seems =
to=20
me to be myopic in the extreme to brand this magnificent story as=20
"misogynistic."

Yes, there are other unsympathetic portraits of women and men throughout th=
e=20
volume. This does not lead me to conclude that Wolfe hates humanity.

Patrick O'Leary

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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