Lanark and the Sand Garden

ArchD'Ikon Zibethicus · 16 Apr 2003, 11:14 · from urth-v0304.mbox · original

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From: "ArchD'Ikon Zibethicus" <zibethicus at hotmail.com>
Subject: (urth) Lanark and the Sand Garden
Date: Wed, 16 Apr 2003 11:14:29 +0000
Message-ID: <urth-v0304-3191 at digest.urth.net>
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Malco/Nastler:

>He does say that, but he also admits that although
>Thaw/Lanark is based on himself they have been altered
>in various ways in order that the reader will become
>more attached to them. In any case, I trust Nastler as
>far as I can comfortably spit out a rat.

Which is as little as Lanark ended up trusting him...understandably...

(sigh)...where's one of my copies?

""Bloody rotten," said Lanark.  "I haven't read as much as you have, I neve=
r=20
had the time, but when I visited public libraries in my twenties _half_ the=20
science fiction stories had scenes like that in them, usually at the end. =20
These banal world destructions prove nothing but the impoverished minds of=20
those who can think of nothing better."

The conjuror's mouth and eyes opened wide and his face grew red.  He began=20
speaking in a shrill whisper which swelled to a bellow: "_I am not writing_=20
science fiction!  Science-fiction stories have no real people in them, and=20
all my characters are real, real, real people!  I may astound my public by =
a=20
dazzling deployment of dramatic metaphors designed to compress and=20
accelerate the action, but that is not science, it is magic!  Magic!  As fo=
r=20
my ending's being banal, wait till you're inside it...""

(p. 498, Canongate 1981 hbk.)

Needless to say, as a member of this list, _I_ don't wholly agree with=20
Nastler, either...

>Personally I dislike the idea of the books being bound
>separately, it might give someone the nasty idea of
>reading them in the "right" order. Which would be the
>wrong thing to do.

Well, yes...but if somebody's gonna be minded to do that, they'll do it=20
regardless of the binding, I suspect.  I myself have never done it, despite=20
having lost count of my readings.  Nastler wants the books "thought of" in=20
the 'right' order; not necessarily _read_ in that order.

The thing which would suck me in if I had the money is that with four=20
volumes, you get four times the cover illustrations...as well as a new essa=
y=20
by Mr. Gray on the writing of the book...

>I'll also say that Lanark deals with the judgement of
>a society following an assessment of the main
>character by a council of representatives.

?

Nastler says: "The Thaw narrative shows a man dying because he is bad at=20
loving.  It is enclosed by [Lanark's] narrative which shows civilization=20
collapsing for the same reason."  (p.484.)

Dunno if this necessarily equates with a _judgement_ per se...and Lanark's=20
abject failure at the 'general assembly of council states' in Provan was=20
_planned_ and _intended_ by Sludden, who sent him there knowing he was goin=
g=20
to get rolled...

The council is disgusted by his abjectness and jeers at him after his arres=
t=20
and release from the drunk-tank, yes, but the destruction of Unthank is not=20
caused by this event...

>And I was
>particularly taken by the passage where Thaw accuses
>God of using "a torturers trick"  (!!!) to gain his
>worship. Thaw prays for mercy during an awful asthma
>attack.

Well, you've given me something to contemplate...the relations between Mr.=20
Gray and Mr. Wolfe as authors...I suppose there must be some, beyond the=20
fact that they are two of my most favoured...but I don't know precisely wha=
t=20
they are...

>And please also consider "Unlikely stories, mostly"
>EVERYONE should own a copy of "The book of prefaces"

Let's face it...just go get the lot...

...but how could you omit 'Janine'?  Canongate is reprinting it this=20
year...at last...

*

Moving over to the Sand Garden (and back on-list-topic)...Blattid thus:

>So I'm thinking that they don't come from the "real" South Africa at all,=20
>but from the South Africa of jungle movies.

That was what I always suspected, myself...or what if they don't come from=20
_our_ Urth, or not exactly ours?  The one next door, perchance...

...who knows what those doors in the Garden open on to...

->Zx<-

Oh, BTW - am I the only 'Lanark' reader who is irresistibly reminded of=20
Sludden every time I hear/see Tony Blair?
____________________________________________________________

When God failed to respond reliably to on-line access, Mankind had to turn=20
elsewhere to unload the burden of its own responsibility.  It invented the=20
computer - which is far more accessible than God and just as satisfying -=20
providing you never give yourself time to think about it.

- Colin Kapp

____________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________
MSN Instant Messenger now available on Australian mobile phones.=C2=A0Go to=
 =20
http://ninemsn.com.au/mobilecentral/hotmail_messenger.asp

--=20

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