random thoughts: aldiss / pandora / short sun

maa32 · 29 Jan 2002, 22:59 · from urth-v0202.mbox · original

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From: maa32 <maa32 at dana.ucc.nau.edu>
Subject: (urth) random thoughts: aldiss / pandora / short sun
Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 15:59:20 -0700
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A while ago someone mentioned that Aldiss and Wolfe may harbor some=20
unconscious ill will for each other, especially in light of Aldiss'=20
characterization of The Book of the New Sun in Trillion Year Spree.  Recent=
ly,=20
Wolfe recommended "Report on Probability A" to me, but stated "I normally=20
don't like Aldiss."  I think that can be taken a couple of ways.

Also, as I've written to Mr. Borski a few times since the list has been dow=
n,=20
I've been looking at Pandora (the most abused of Wolfe's works) again.  The=
re=20
are a lot of German people running around: Larry Lief, the man who is kille=
d;=20
Bill Hake, H. Hollander's servant; and a few others.  Lief means run, Hake=20
means hook.  Interestingly enough, a bill hook is a scimitar.  In light of =
the=20
myth of Aladdin in which a man pretends to be Alladin's uncle to get the la=
mp=20
(kind of like "Uncle" Sinclair uses Aladdin Blue to find books to sell to M=
r.=20
Hollander), I am proposing that something dubious is going on with Uncle=20
Sinclair, whose demise is reported in the introduction of the book. =20
Additionally, Holly herself seems to love to emphasize with italics and I a=
m=20
trying to come up with a cogent assimilation of all italics in the book.  T=
he=20
two men who hang out with Aladdin correspond nicely to the genie of the rin=
g=20
and the genie of the lamp that Aladdin has in the traditional myth.  I'm no=
t=20
sure where to overlay the two myths; are the Hollander brothers Epimetheus =
and=20
Prometheus, or are they like the evil brothers from the Aladdin myth who=20
almost destroy Aladdin?  There are a ton of German artifacts in Hollander's=20
house: a german special forces knife, a special police Walter pistol, the=20
german cartridge that supposedly causes the explosion, and a german servant=
 in=20
the form of Bill Hake who is the only one with Mrs. HOllander when she goes=
 to=20
pick up Pandora's box.  I would like to think of Bill Hake as a weapon of=20
destruction, but I haven't found the "key" to this novel; I'm not sure ther=
e=20
is one. (also, check out the scenes where Holly and her mother interact: th=
ey=20
are the only indications we get that Holly smokes and how rebellious she is=
 -=20
also, she says the oil that Lief's family sells is a great cover up for pot=
 -=20
yet she says she won't tell us about the first time she tried pot.  I think=20
Lief's death is a good cover up for something - but I don't know if=20
overanalyzing Pandora is a good idea.)

On another note, has anybody come up with a plausible description for the=20
inscription on the white ring that Horn and Silk use in The Book of the Sho=
rt=20
Sun?  If I re-read those books again anytime soon I'll try to pay attention=
 to=20
it.  Anybody figured out why Beroep is so "poor"?  Or who that dude with th=
e=20
colorless cape is on the moon ... (I mean, Green).

Everybody knows Douglas Adams died last year, right?  I just saw that on th=
e=20
internet last week and I was pretty surprised.  He was kind of young (I'm n=
ot=20
sure if many people who enjoy Wolfe's work would like Adams, but he was=20
certainly funny - I liked his books when I was younger.)

I don't know if I posted these ideas to the general lists, but I came up wi=
th=20
a plausible excuse for the eucharistic ceremonies in In Green's Jungles and=20
Return to the Whorl.  If you buy that the trees are eating people and=20
recombining with their DNA, then a transubstantiation is going on that mirr=
ors=20
the Catholic belief that wine (made from grapes) and bread ACTUALLY become=20
blood and flesh (as opposed to the consubstantiation of many protestant=20
religions in which symbolic resonance supersedes actual changes in matter).=
 =20
This occurs when he is in the forest and he feels the trees watching him, a=
nd=20
when he is with Olivine on the Whorl.  In her case, we have seen how her=20
mother was able to incorporate some of Maytera Rose's soul with her parts,=20
another kind of transubstantiation (vegetable to human to mechanical ...=20
strange, huh?)  I think there was more to the gesture than just the direct=20
evokation of an overtly Christian and Catholic ceremony.  I'm sure I've=20
already shared that with Mr. Borski, Mr. Jordan, and Mr. Robertson.

I hope everyone is doing ok, I'm glad the list is back up.

Marc Aramini

Questions or problems: write ranjit at urth.net

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