Heresy

William Ansley · 20 Feb 2001, 00:51 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: William Ansley <wansley at warwick.net>
Subject: Re: (whorl) Heresy
Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 00:51:55
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0305 at digest.urth.net>
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At 11:34 AM -0500 2/19/01, BMeyer7 at aol.com wrote:

>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 wi=
th
>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 answe=
rs
>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.

I think you bring up some interesting issues. As I think my recent=20
posts have indicated, I agree to a great degree with your implied=20
criticisms of TBotSS. I also strongly agree that I, as well, am not=20
as sophisticated or as knowledgeable as many others who post to this=20
list. I find it very satisfying to have certain incidents in Wolfe's=20
books made clear (or at least clearer)  to me by someone who posts=20
the appropriate Biblical, mythical or historical reference and or=20
analysis. This was my motivation in posting my long series of=20
messages on the Oz references in "The Eyeflash Miracles." I hope I=20
provided a bit of that satisfaction to someone else.

Despite my satisfaction in revelations, I believe that a novel should=20
be entertaining on a surface level so that it can be enjoyed by=20
someone who isn't aware of all the buried layers of meaning that may=20
be present, even if that enjoyment is shallow compared to the "deep"=20
enjoyment of the reader who does make the extra effort to penetrate=20
as many of the underlaying layers as he or she can.

Given my many carks and quibbles with RttW and the other SS books the=20
following opinion may surprise many readers of this list, but I think=20
Wolfe has succeeded in this with these books. Even though I was=20
disappointed in RttW as a source of clarification, I did enjoy=20
reading it. Despite my complaints about Olivine's speech patterns, I=20
was moved by her plight and devoutly hope Marble will be reunited=20
with her and be able to make her whole (eyes excepted, of course).=20
That, to me, is the mark of a great writer.

But I worry because I also think that Wolfe has succeeded less in the=20
SS books in providing both an accessible surface layer and a coherent=20
framework for understanding the underlying layers. Wolfe should write=20
what he wants to write, of course, but if he really is writing for a=20
smaller and smaller group with each book, how much longer will his=20
books continue to be published? Publishers exist to make a profit,=20
especially now. Perhaps Wolfe's oft stated fears that his next=20
submitted work will not be accepted for publication are more=20
realistic than we realize.

I also have to admit that I enjoyed the SS books less than the LS=20
books and those less than the NS books, If Wolfe does write another=20
book that continues the LS/SS series, I am going to have to think=20
long and hard before I decide whether I am going to read it. I really=20
feel that I would have understood and therefore enjoyed RttW better=20
if I had re-read all of the LS and the previous two SS books=20
immediately beforehand. But I just didn't have time. To rephrase one=20
of the questions above:

Has Wolfe crossed the line from legitimately challenging his readers=20
to asking far more of them than can reasonably be expected?

I think he may have with these books for a great many potential=20
readers; I think he may have for me. For those of you who disagree=20
with this, by all means, enjoy your discussions.

I still have more to say myself.

William Ansley

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