Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun

Kim Helliwell · 27 Jan 1986, 22:25 · from net.sf-lovers.1986.mbox

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From: kim at analog.UUCP (Kim Helliwell )
Subject: Gene Wolfe: Book of the New Sun
Date: Mon, 27-Jan-86 17:25:37 EST
Message-ID: <194 at analog.UUCP>
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers

I've seen several kudos on this newsgroup for Gene Wolfe's Book of the New
Sun, and they nearly always prompt the following train of thought in my
mind:

What is it that you who love it (and read and re-read it avidly) see in it
that I am missing?  I've made it to the end of the second volume, the one
which ends with the invitation to journey further with the protagonist, but
does not blame the reader if he chooses not to--saying "it is no easy 
journey".  Even up to that point it is no easy journey, so I've paused long
to consider whether I want to go any further!

I must be missing some crucial point--is it something that will come clear
if I go on, or would the net advise me to abandon it because, "if you have
to  ask, you ain't never going to know!"

If someone could explain in his own words what it is that Wolfe is trying to
do with this work, it might help.

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