The ending

James Jordan · 12 Apr 2001, 15:24 · from whorl-v0012.mbox · original

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From: James Jordan <jbjordan4 at home.com>
Subject: (whorl) Re: The ending
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2001 15:24:48
Message-ID: <whorl-v0012-0598 at digest.urth.net>
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>To compare it with ENGINE SUMMER, a comparison mantis made (though
>apparently he didn't mean by it what I took him to): in ES also, the
>protagonist's story is not resolved in the sense we had expected it to be;
>instead, a sudden twist of events abruptly "closes off" the protagonist's
>story.  But in ES the resolution worked, and I didn't feel cheated, because
>it was emotionally moving and thematically resonant.  Neither of these
>things are true of the ending voyage in RttW.

         While I did not "dislike" the ending as much as some here did, I=20
think you have a good point. Suddenly "Horn" is "Silk." Suddenly they all=20
go away. This has not been "prepared." And as you note, unlike Engine=20
Summer, the ending is not emotionally powerful.
         But Wolfe often does this kind of thing. It's his way of trying to=20
get us to re-read the book or story with new eyes. Yet, the re-reading does=20
not seem to give much in this case.

Nutria


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