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Heresy
BMeyer7 · 19 Feb 2001, 16:34
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From: BMeyer7 at aol.com Subject: (whorl) Heresy Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 11:34:51 EST Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0296 at digest.urth.net> X-Urthmirror-Source: http://www.urth.net/whorl/archives/v0012/0296.shtml MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="part1_c8.10fa1b14.27c2a52b_boundary" --part1_c8.10fa1b14.27c2a52b_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit OK, I'm sure I'll be the target of the wrath of many, but here goes. First, let me set forth my background--I've been reading SF/F for my entire life (I'm 40), have read every published word of Wolfe, and, while not nearly as sophisticated as many on this list, am not a total Wolfe-dummy. I figured out lots of stuff (including what was going on in "Fifth Head") on my own, before such lists provided the insights of others. OK, reading this list, it is striking that after 7 books in this series, the very, very, smart people posting cannot come up with a consensus about what the hell is going on with respect to key issues. Now a series of rhetorical questions: At what point does intentional obscurity on the part of an author become a self-indulgent pretention that gets in the way of artistic expression? How much do we really love Wolfe because he's a great writer and how much because it's fun to solve puzzles? Has Wolfe crossed the line from not giving all the answers to creating texts that must be pored over by talmudic scholars rather than actual readers of novels? Is Wolfe writing for a smaller, and smaller audience of expert Wolfe-interpreters? Discuss. --part1_c8.10fa1b14.27c2a52b_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>OK, I'm sure I'll be the target of the wrath of many, but here goes. First, <BR>let me set forth my background--I've been reading SF/F for my entire life <BR>(I'm 40), have read every published word of Wolfe, and, while not nearly as <BR>sophisticated as many on this list, am not a total Wolfe-dummy. I figured <BR>out lots of stuff (including what was going on in "Fifth Head") on my own, <BR>before such lists provided the insights of others. OK, reading this list, it <BR>is striking that after 7 books in this series, the very, very, smart people <BR>posting cannot come up with a consensus about what the hell is going on with <BR>respect to key issues. Now a series of rhetorical questions: At what point <BR>does intentional obscurity on the part of an author become a self-indulgent <BR>pretention that gets in the way of artistic expression? How much do we <BR>really love Wolfe because he's a great writer and how much because it's fun <BR>to solve puzzles? Has Wolfe crossed the line from not giving all the answers <BR>to creating texts that must be pored over by talmudic scholars rather than <BR>actual readers of novels? Is Wolfe writing for a smaller, and smaller <BR>audience of expert Wolfe-interpreters? Discuss. </FONT></HTML> --part1_c8.10fa1b14.27c2a52b_boundary-- *This is WHORL, for discussion of Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun. *More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.moonmilk.com/whorl/ *To leave the list, send "unsubscribe" to whorl-request at lists.best.com *If it's Wolfe but not Long Sun, please use the URTH list: urth at lists.best.com
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