revelatory message/converting dislike

William Ansley · 28 May 2002, 15:10 · from urth-v0205.mbox · original

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From: William Ansley <wansley at warwick.net>
Subject: Re: (urth) revelatory message/converting dislike
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 11:10:35 -0400
Message-ID: <urth-v0205-1097 at digest.urth.net>
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At 7:07 AM -0700 5/26/02, Michael Andre-Driussi wrote:
>In writing once again (no doubt seen for the first time by many) about his
>disappointment in TBOSS, William Ansley writes:
>
>>Of course, someone on this list could post a revelatory message that
>>makes me see the light, but I haven't been convinced by any attempts
>>so far.
>
>Ah!  I will steer clear of the more irritating aspects of this and focus on
>the more intriguing root of it.  It applies to William, since he wrote it,
>but it may very well apply to others.

I'm sorry that I irritated you, Michael, but I'm not sure how. Is is=20
just that I don't like the Short Suns books or that I say so or that=20
I am incapable of clearly articulating why?

>My question to William and anyone else who cares to answer is this: Have
>you ever received a revelatory message about a disliked Wolfe fiction that
>made you "see the light" and revise your dislike of it?

You have misread my intent in the passage you quoted, above. I am not=20
"pining for conversion through revelation." In fact, I doubt that any=20
revelation about the Short Sun books could "convert" me. It was my=20
way of saying, "Since so many people on this mailing list, who seem=20
to know so much more about literature, religion and Gene Wolfe=20
himself than I do, like the books and I don't, maybe my opinion isn't=20
valid."

Having put it that way, perhaps I can see the source of your=20
irritation. If I doubt the validity of my own opinion, I shouldn't=20
have bothered everyone on this list with it.

My apologies.
--=20

William Ansley

--=20

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