[SPOILERS] In Green's Jungles, first thoughts

Dan Rabin · 22 Jul 2000, 23:19 · from whorl-v0010.mbox · original

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From: Dan Rabin <wolfe-lists at danrabin.com>
Subject: (whorl) [SPOILERS] In Green's Jungles, first thoughts
Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 23:19:07
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Spoiler space courtesy of Christopher Culver:

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Wow, that was smooth!  I found the reading to be much easier than in=20
_On Blue's Waters_, which is odd because the narration is, if=20
anything, more complex.  It's amazing, when I think about it after=20
finishing the book, that Wolfe makes a bunch of characters sit around=20
on the brink of war telling each other stories for many chapters.=20
This just happen to fill in the back story and advance the plot at=20
the same time.

It seems pretty daring to me that Wolfe builds up to the recognition=20
scene between Horn/Silk and Auk and Chenille, and then yells "Cut!",=20
only confirming our suspicions in the conversation afterwards back on=20
Blue.

Even withing the conceit that Horn is writing during a war in which=20
he is a leader, he seldom fills us in on events in a straight line.=20
He keeps jumping ahead and back and around.  The narration reminds me=20
of the 1970's US TV detective "Columbo", who affected a bumbling,=20
easygoing style to disarm suspects into giving up crucial clues.=20
Behind the bumbling incompetent narrator Horn, who's always=20
remembering something he should have said already, is the ruthlessly=20
analytical Wolfe, who knows *exactly* the conceptual order in which=20
he wants events to be revealed.  That order just happens to have only=20
a little to do with the internal flow of time in the story.  Perhaps=20
if we reanalyze the narrative in terms of the progress of=20
enlightenment (ours, Horn's, Horn's interlocutors') the series will=20
turn out to be progressing in a perfectly straight line.

It seems like we're converging on a revelation of Krait's secret at=20
about the rate at which we're approaching Horn's homecoming.  I would=20
hazard a guess that there's a third important progression to be tied=20
up:  Horn must understand by the end that he *has* brought Silk.  I=20
don't know how this fits with the major new twist in IGJ, which is=20
all that spirit travel.  In those scenes, the spiritual natures=20
manifest as physical.  This would seem to dictate that the spirit=20
(Horn in this case) should be more "real" than the body (Silk's); but=20
we  also have to contend with the occasional intrusion of Silk's=20
memories into Horn's consciousness.

Certainly it's becoming clear that Horn/Silk is an extraordinary=20
leader who behaves much like Silk under pressure: brilliant, but=20
wants to resign his position the whole time he's bringing victory.

We should have some very beautiful strangeness lying in wait for us=20
in _Return to the Whorl_.

   -- Dan Rabin

P.S.  Has it occurred to anyone else that Silk "sits as the right=20
head of God"?  Couldn't resist--sorry.

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