I laughed at this. Your username has inspired me to re-read it a couple of times over the years.
Not a word, I’m afraid. That’s why I’ll never write my memoirs.
You have to have a high tolerance for ambiguity. He does not spell everything out, either in BotNS or in his short stories. There’s a lot the reader has to infer, and a lot that you’ll never really know. The first time I read BotNS I had a strong feeling of “WTF did I just read.” But I saw enough in it to try a second time.
Of course if he’s not your cup of tea, there’s nothing wrong with that.
The Book of the New Sun, along with The Lord of the Rings, were the most influential books of my youth. My love of language and history developed from them.
I reread Earthsea after LeGuin passed away, now I’ll have to reread BotNS.
I don’t think it’s the ambiguity. A lot of my favorite writers are fatally ambiguous (see: Jeff van der Meer).
At the risk of turning myself into a caricature, I seem to remember thinking his women characters were pretty two-dimensional, serving as little more than foils for the men. And other things like that seemed to pop up, where I just didn’t find his characters very plausible or interesting.
But like I say it’s been a few years since I read anything by him, and maybe I need to give his work another chance.
Well, if you try him again, I’d suggest* An Evil Guest*, which features a female protagonist. It’s very odd, one of his more Lovecraftian (Sort of) works.
I was on a panel with him once at Boskone. Unfortunately, there were too many (eight), which is about two too many for a good panel. He was pretty quiet. At one point, someone from the audience asked “Is Mr. Wolfe going to say anything.” Wolfe replied, “Evidently, yes.” I think he only spoke once again in the hour.
My work here is done!
My dad had a copy of The Island Of Dr Death And Other Stories And Other Stories. I read it and loved it. Then, it got lost. My mom gave me a new copy a few years ago. It is every bit as great as I remember. I try to read La Befana every Christmas.
Damn that is sad to hear, and I only just saw it now, a month on - knew he wasn’t in great health but that’s a tester all the same.
Actually listening to the Alzabo soup readthrough of BotNS at the moment, but several months behind with it, so wasn’t aware. Only author that’s really been there all my reading life - since I picked up Shadow as a young teenager and didn’t really understand any of it, but was still entranced by the atmosphere and feel. Had a reread last year and that book just has the fire - like you know when you’re reading something and it’s crystal clear, you can feel it, that the author is doing something very special? Had to lay the book down occasionally just to pause and draw breath. The antechamber chapter in Claw with Severian and Jonas is, I think, one of my favourite passages in all of literature.
I’ve read all his books but don’t really connect too well with his latter work (Short Sun was uncharacteristically emotional (plus very difficult IME) and the last one that really knocked me out). He reminded me of a great composer or painter, who having mastered the classical form, has nothing left to prove so starts to become quite experimental and minimalist. I can see how this enabled him to write in a different way, he’d use genre fiction tropes in his later work to write in quite a superficial, bland style that let him be extremely tricky and playful. But I missed the prose - Wolfe was a big admirer of Proust and he channelled that immersive, dream-like writing into his best work IMHO.
It’s moving to hear that he was so well-liked to go along with the universal regard he was held in as a writer. RIP Gene.
I picked up BotNS after seeing this thread and just finished it. I hadn’t read any Wolfe before.
A little hard to describe my impression of the book, but I suppose I’d say that while it’s clearly a *great *book, I’m not so sure it was a *good *book. That is to say, it clearly sits at a level above most with its writing and depth. But at the same time, it was a bit of a slog and it’s hard to say that I truly enjoyed it.
One aspect I found amusing is that at the superficial her’s journey level, we are getting the backstory of a particular trope character–the anonymous executioner; shirtless, otherwise dressed and masked in black leather, silent, and holding a big sword. Who is that guy that shows up in so many places? He’s usually only on-screen for a minute or two to slice off someone’s head, or to inflict some pain in a dungeon, but we finally get the whole story.
The book clearly mixes Christian and Greek mythology, starting with the New Sun/New Son parallel. And at least on the Christian side, it does it without being too heavy-handed on the allegory as with C.S. Lewis. The whole story about the island was basically a retelling of the Minotaur’s Labyrinth, with a few other bits mixed in. Though to be honest, I probably still missed 3/4 of the references.
I didn’t mind the vague, dream-like ambiance. As Left Hand of Dorkness mentions, Jeff van der Meer is “worse” in that respect but I still enjoy it. In fact the plot is pretty easy to follow overall.
I suppose the biggest negative is simply Severian. He’s not a pleasant character. Although he grew a little past his torturer roots, he is essentially the same person throughout the book–and this is despite gaining hundreds of alternate personalities along the way. His sense of morality seems strongly linked to whether there is a beautiful woman involved. He is incurious about the world and has no idea what’s going on most of the time (which also leaves the reader in the dark, except to the extent that we can learn from other characters). He has almost no capability for introspection, doing things for what seems to be no reason and with no sense for his own faults and limits (not least his clearly fallible memory).
Some of this I don’t mind, but after 1000 pages it gets tiring. Surely, he will eventually grow and plan a course of action based on some new information as to how the universe works. But no, that never happens. He is inevitably carried along by the currents of fate.
All that said, the book did have a unique aesthetic and planted some new ideas in my brain. And clearly Wolfe is a hell of a writer. I just with the journey had been a little more fun.
Thanks for recommending this book. I just finished reading it, and it was as good as advertised. It’s difficult to name a favorite story, but it might be The Eyeflash Miracles.
OMG! I saw this thread had popped up on the front page and thought to myself “I wonder who had what to say in there?”
You’re very welcome; I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
You might enjoy Doctor Island, a 1999 B&W short film based on The Death of Doctor Island. It’s a very Pasolini-esque film (I love Pasolini; YMMV).
Sadly, the film version of The Island of Dr. Death never came to completion. I stayed in touch with the filmmakers for a few years, but they’ve put the project on a shelf long ago now.
Again, I’m just thrilled to pieces that you enjoyed the book.
Guess it is time for another re-read.
Damn, so many authors and performers of my youth are passing on =(
In my youth I was introduced to a Persian drink, sekanjabin, made from mint, honey, and white vinegar. It was strong, sharp, almost sweet, and sour (think of the white vinegar) at the same time. I couldn’t tell if I liked it, so I tried some more. Again, it was challenging to drink, teetering on the border between desirable and offputting, but it was complex and interesting. So I had some more. My friends agreed they didn’t necessarily enjoy sekanjabin but looked forward to trying it again.
Gene Wolfe’s writing was like that. Exotic, new to me, yet clearly with ancient roots, it made me uncomfortable while teasing my imagination. I hated Severian as a person but could not put the book down. I found Soldier of the Mist disorienting; reading it was like I imagine having Alzheimer’s might be.
No other writer has simultaneously piqued my interest and filled me with vague unease like Wolfe.
Last week at Albacon we had a memorial panel on Gene Wolfe, ran by the people of his literary agency. They told some wonderful stories.
For instance, he was devoted to his wife. They had known each other as children and Gene later moved to be with her. When she became sick, he made sure she was a nursing home near his house so he could visit every day.
Whenever they had to talk to him, they knew they would be on the phone for an hour as Gene would talk on about whatever came to mind. Once, they got a frantic all from his editor on a Monday: Gene had wanted to talk to them, but they were away at a convention and he called around to get in touch ASAP.
Another time, Gene called the agency. The only one there was a new agent who was male; all the other agents had been women. He was skeptical that the guy was actually an agent there.
Interestingly, it turned out that Gene had only one book editor for nearly all his career: David Hartwell. Whenever Hartwell left for a new job, he was allowed to take one client with him, and that always was Gene. When Hartwell died, it took a lot of persuading to get Gene to accept another editor.
There was much more, but the picture was that Gene Wolfe was a pleasure for them to work with.
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Sailboat, please consider giving Hannu Rajaniemi’s The Quantum Thief a try. I’ve recommended this a bunch of times on the Dope, but to my knowledge no one has taken it up. It’s a very challenging book (in a very challenging trilogy), but I find it one of the most rewarding books (& series) of the 21st century. I’ve read it 6 times now and every time I find new details, make new connections and have new realizations about the story. I had no idea what to expect beyond “notorious thief imprisoned, escapes, has to find his own purged memories to even know who he is, let alone what he should do.” The book(s) take quite a bit of mental effort, but IMO the reward is an incredibly rich and sophisticated experience.
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ETA: That’s a wonderful bit of information about Mr. Wolfe; thanks for posting that RealityChuck.
I tried to get into it. It seemed like the kind of book that would be rewarding with the full devotion of your attention. At the time I tried to read it, I was busy with a lot of other things, and while I could read, e.g., Iain Banks like that, trying to tackle Rajaniemi just gave me a stiff-arm.
It’s a very interesting setting. Anyway, I think a recommendation for it is fitting in a thread devoted to the complex writing Wolfe created.
It is gratifying to hear that you gave it a shot at least, Gray Ghost. Yes, it does require “full attention”. I still think about it often even after 6 readings. A good way to describe it might be: it’s the literary equivalent of the movie Primer.