From: CRCulver@aol.com
Subject: Re:  Re:  (urth) Call 4 a FAQulty
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 12:21:37 EST

Wombat said:
<<Here are a few Wolfe FAQs which have nothing to do with BotNS and one which
does but isn't *about* BotNS: 

"What's up with Dennis Weer?"
"Which egg contained the hallucinogen?"
"What became of John V. Marsh? And what does VRT stand for?"
"How is the _Long Sun_ related to the _New Sun_?"
"What is a memory palace?"
"Where should I start reading Wolfe?"
"What Wolfe short story collections are there?" 
"What is Cheap Street? What other small-press Wolfe am I missing?"
"Did Gene Wolfe really invent Pringles?">>

Ha, that is a different thing entirely. What you are talking about is a
general Urth-list FAQ, whereas Mantis and I were talking about single-book
FAQs. Nonetheless, your questions above are good, and really could help the
person new to the list. I should note that we should try to reduce the
possibility of spoilers for those who have not read certain books. For
example, I've yet to read _The Fifth Head of Cerberus_

<<I agree that the most Frequently Asked Questions are about _BotNS_, because
it's the largest, densest(*), and most-read of Wolfe' works.>>

Yes, and the BotNS needs exegesis to be fully appreciated. The first time I
read it, I treated it just as a sword-and-sorcery epic. But, after reading
about the many Christian allusions and references to Borges, I enjoyed it a
lot more.


<<(*)Actually, I think that _Peace_ might be denser.>>

That is a good possibilty, because _Peace_ never has what could be called a
straightforward narrative, there are always myriad meanings behind each
action. Whereas in the BotNS one could say "The uhlan was on horseback," and
be very clear about what you are trying to describe, _Peace_ is a different
story, literally. A FAQ on _Peace_ wouldn't be a frequently asked questions
list, it would be more of a running commentary.

Christopher R. Culver <crculver@aol.com>
President Pro-Tempore of USEJ
Prezidanto Dumtempa de USEJ
--------------------------------------------------
http://ttt.esperanto.org/usej/

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/