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So I've been trying to read Soldier of Sidon to see exactly what was so exciting about that it beat out my friend Cat's book for the World Fantasy Award, and as part of that I read the first two books in the series, in a compilation called "Latro in the Mist." These were a couple of very good books, but then I got to the end, and it was really opaque and confusing in what I perceived to be an unnecessary way. So, I looked on the internet for an interpretation of the ending, and found this:
What is almost unforgivable in this book is that there is no adequate explanation of what happens at the end of it. We have come all this way, only to find that Wolfe puts the scroll in the possession of a virtual stranger, the poet Pindar, who seems to understand even less of what is going on than we do.
Thus Pindar's concluding chapter offers almost no clarification, and indeed, his callousness in disposing of characters like Io, about whom we care very much, is painful. It's been a long time since I have been so frustrated -- and, yes, angry -- at the end of a book I had been enjoying so very much. So be warned: Soldier of Arete is a brilliant, original work of fiction -- but at the end of it you'll have no choice but to guess at what actually happened during the climax, with damned few clues to help you.
Or perhaps I'm just too dull-witted to read Wolfe anymore. No doubt Wolfe has many readers brighter than I am; yet he certainly has none more passionately involved in the reading, none more eager to be moved. I wish that in the future he would pander just a bit to lackwits like me, and actually tell us plainly what in hell happened in the tale. Many great writers have deigned to do so, and their literary achievements are not wholly despised because of it.
So, I have a vague idea of what happened, but if actually understanding the ending clearly is a task that defeats lackwits like the above-quoted reviewer (Orson Scott Card, who I certainly believe qualifies as such when it comes to politics but not science fiction and fantasy (at least, in the 90s when this was written)), then I'm comfortable with the fact that it did the same to me. |
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The weird, unfriendly German couple next door are holding an impromptu club night. In a condo complex. It sure would be nice if they would turn down the bass.
*shakes cane at them* |
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So, finished the other half on the train back up to Pasadena (yes, I read the entirety of Palimpsest on a train, which I just realized is something of an odd coincidence). Anyway, it was really good and I would recommend it to anyone who is on the fence about picking it up. |
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So, got to read about half of Palimpsest on the way home from Pasadena. It's really good. Really, really good. |
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My car broke down in Pasadena and remains there. I took public transportation back to San Diego so that my (pregnant) wife wouldn't have to drive to LA to pick me up, and am feeling very self-congratulatory about it. (*pats self on back*)
While I was on the bus, a strange man with a top hat and umbrella got on board, and immediately began explaining loudly (and at length) to no one in particular that the metalheads interfere with him whenever he tries to cast spells, but he is able to work them anyway. |
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Overheard while passing a bar:
"It's because they love boobies more than they love prostates!!"
(raucous laughter)
Apr. 26th, 2009 @ 06:46 pm
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| » listening to new bands is hard |
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Now that I'm old and crotchety, I am really impatient with books and music, in that I don't feel like throwing away a bunch of time on a band that might suck. If a novel isn't working for me, I'll usually read it backwards to avoid being pissed off by the ending (Iain Banks, I'm looking in your direction). Anyway, music is much harder than novels, because a lot of the music I really like didn't appeal on first listen (or second or third). So I'm listening to Paramore. Maybe I'll buy their album. Probably not; this is hard work, and I have a lot of "9 Crimes" to listen to, on repeat, approximately 10,000 times.
Apr. 22nd, 2009 @ 12:23 am
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| » Palimpsest Concert - Pasadena, April 25 |
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Hey, is anybody I know going to see SJ Tucker in Pasadena on the 25th?
Apr. 2nd, 2009 @ 12:06 am
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| » House buying |
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Looking at buying a place in San Elijo Hills. A variety of places, really, but a lot of them have fallen through. My criteria seem to be that it has to be some place where I can be really clumsy without dying. No low railings overlooking living rooms, no high ceilings where I can fall off ladders while trying to dust (is that even something I would do myself?). I am also taking into account my unwillingness to drive an extra five minutes to get places, so the stuff that's five minutes further towards San Marcos is penalized accordingly.
That last bit might seem odd, but I lived a little ways into the woods in Ohio, so it was ten to fifteen minutes added on to every drive in order to get anywhere that a human might want to be (longer in winter), and it made me completely insane by the time I turned eighteen.
Apr. 1st, 2009 @ 11:58 pm
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| » Fail |
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So apparently most American-sold front loading washers have a gasket that serves as a goop trap, more or less. It collects gunk, which then molds, which then serves as starter mold (like a pinch of old dough for bread) for any subsequent loads thrown into the washer. Nice work.
Mar. 29th, 2009 @ 01:49 am
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| » Conflux PR this weekend |
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Hopefully it'll fix some of the gaps in the current format.
Also, I got my L1 at Grand Prix LA. Exciting!
Jan. 28th, 2009 @ 04:06 pm
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| » The Waikiki Experience |
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So Waikiki was not what I was expecting after driving through the area - it's basically a bunch of ridiculously high-end and/or over-priced shops. At the same time, it's strangely sleazy. Case in point - two incidents where Belle and I each misheard someone making us an ... unusual offer as we were walking down the main drag.
Incident one (as we were walking past the Coach store):
What Belle heard: "Do you guys want to live in Waikiki?"
What was actually asked: "Do you guys want to buy some weed?"
Almost immediately after being asked this, a bike cop comes speeding by and says, "Did he just ask you?" I reply, "uh, yeah..?" Apparently that was confirmation enough, and the unlucky merchant was then immediately tackled by said cop. I didn't actually see the tackle, just the aftermath, but in my mind's eye it involves a horizontal leap from a standing position on the bike seat, like a wrestler diving off the top rope.
Incident two:
We are walking past a jewelry store where a young lady in a brown dress is standing, looking like she's waiting for someone.
What I heard: "Are you and your young lady looking for a timeshare?"
What was actually asked: "Are you and your young lady looking for a good time?"
I smiled politely and was about to decline the timeshare offer, when Belle elbowed me sharply and hissed, "That's a hooker!"
"Oh," thought I.
We spent the next day in the North Shore region.
Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 12:33 pm
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| » wedding photos |
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Not the official ones, these are just some pictures from around the venue, and ones taken at the rehearsal event and ceremony by people in my family on my handy Discount Walmart Camera of Goodness.
Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 10:45 am
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| » I got married |
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So, I'm married now.
Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 08:50 am
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| » Why I hate the telephone (I think.) |
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I post this because I seem to forget when I've told people this story or not, but basically, a friend of mine tried to fix me up with this girl he knew in Medina. I was really nervous about it, but I eventually called, and got her dad. He was really angry, which was confusing to me at first, except then I found out that she had died in a car accident the prior week. I didn't find out, because it was in Medina, and the local news where I lived did not report such things. So, once he realized I wasn't prank calling (and it is infuriating to contemplate that someone would even do something like that), I got put on the phone with her mom. She explained what had happened, and tried to console me, since she imagined that I was upset at having missed the funeral.
They were able to fix her body so they were able to have an open casket. You could hardly tell that she had been in an accident. So many people came out to the service, and she was really glad to know there were so many people that cared about her.
Really, I can't even imagine how terrible it must have been for her to go through all that again, talking to me. Literally, can't even start to imagine.
I want to learn more about what happened now, but... this happened before the internet, and I can't seem to find a damn thing about it. Especially since I didn't make any particular effort to remember the details of the event (in fact quite the opposite). I only that it was winter, and that there was a blue halogen lamp in front of me on my gray desk, and hey, a small candy dish too. Odd things stick out. This was something that I really did my best to forget.
Anyway, I tried to navigate my way out of the call as gracefully as I could manage (though, what the hell do you say in that situation, especially at 16), while experiencing the sort of dry prickly heat running through my body that usually comes along with getting caught doing something wrong.
So... I don't like calling people.
Nov. 22nd, 2008 @ 09:58 pm
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| » Audio Quality |
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So, I finally got sick of the crappy audio quality from my on-motherboard soundcard and hooked up the Extigy that's been biding its time in a wicker basket on top of the wardrobe near the front door.
What the hell was I thinking? I know I'm not exactly as crazy about sound quality as I used to be (...or am I, but anyway) the sound before was like it was being pushed through a mud-clogged pvc pipe.
Also, in football news, OSU more or less clowned U-M today. This was not helped by miserably uninteresting announcing. I can understand why they might not assign him to the game, but I sincerely missed Chris Spielman's commentary, which was pretty awesome during the game he announced earlier this season. Anyway, once I realized Sheridan was our QB for the game, hope basically exited stage left, but Larry and I watched the whole thing anyway (in accordance with our duties as hapless fans). It was sad.
Nov. 22nd, 2008 @ 09:11 pm
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| » Family News |
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In an exceedingly improbable turn of events, my brother is moving out to San Diego! Family in tow. This is very exciting.
Nov. 11th, 2008 @ 03:48 pm
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| » Also, as long as I'm blogging |
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Obama won. I think I can start following politics again (I stopped after 2004 - seeing the buffoon in chief win re-election after having so clearly demonstrating his unsuitability for the position tripped some sort of mental circuit breaker). Also, prop 8 passed in California - poor form, supporters. Way to be on the wrong side of history.
Nov. 9th, 2008 @ 12:07 am
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| » Hey, I turned 30. |
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Birthdays, which I have never been fond of, have been further downgraded.
Also, as a present to myself, apparently, I dropped off a pint of blood with the Red Cross the day before my birthday, and now I feel like crap, which should last through the next week and then some. On the bright side, apparently I have never contracted CMV (Cytomegalovirus, a retrovirus which is a threat to immune-suppressed individuals and basically no one else). Therefore, according to the nurse, blood I donate is directed to premature newborns, instead of millionaire alcoholics receiving their third liver.
Nov. 9th, 2008 @ 12:00 am
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owlswater's journal
