Gene Wolfe is one of the most respected literary artists in the field of science fiction. On their podcast reread WolfeHosts James Wynn and Craig Brewer provide in-depth analysis of Wolfe .’s masterpiece New Sun Book.
“You have to tell a story by Gene Wolfe after you’ve read it,” Wynn said in Episode 535 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy audio file. “There is a reason why it is called reread Wolfe. There is a statement of John Clute, who said, ‘You can’t read a Gene Wolfe story, you can only reread a Gene Wolfe story.’ So you have to read it, then you read it again, and then you still want to talk to someone about it.”
New Sun Book is a dense, allegorical work that initially presents itself as sword and magic, gradually reveals itself as planetary romance, then becomes increasingly interested in theology and metaphysics. The book’s disjointed plot and dreamy logic can make it a challenge for beginners. “Wolfe breaks all the rules that any kind of writing workshop would tell you,” says Brewer. “If you just jump into thinking, ‘Oh, everyone says this is a good book’ and you’re not prepared for it, it’s like reading. James Joyce or something, where someone says, ‘Oh, Ulysses is important. I guess I should go read it,’ and they’re like, ‘What the heck?’”
Wolfe fans have spent four decades debating the meaning of New Sun Book, but many of the story’s basic plot points are still controversial. “I really remembered this when we were doing this podcast, that there was no consensus on these books,” Wynn said. “There is a small scene at the beginning The mediator’s claw where the Severians executed a woman, and when we got the hang of it, we said what we thought, we invited people to write in. Finally, there are probably at least four groups of hypotheses about what happened during that event. And I changed my mind after the conversation about what was going on.”
Brewer hopes that Wolfe’s articles have been donated to Northern Illinois University, will provide more details about the author’s work. “One thing that I really look forward to seeing is what his drafts are like,” he says. “When you look at the draft of a story, does it start out much simpler and then he complicates it over time? Or is it really weird at the beginning, and then maybe he tries to figure out some way to do something later? I just don’t know. But it’s one that I hope having the opportunity to really dive into his papers at some point will show us.”
Listen to the full interview with James Wynn and Craig Brewer in Episode 535 of Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy (above). And check out some highlights from the discussion below.
James Wynn upon discovering Gene Wolfe:
I read [Book of the New Sun] And I actually passed. My wife said, “You must have read those books a long time ago.” I said, “Yes.” She said, “Well, is it any good?” “I’m not sure.” “Then why are you reading it?” I said, “Well, I have to find out how it ends.” I got over it, and then I found out that there really was no end, and that was unsettling. I told my friend that I thought this Wolfe guy was an ordinary writer, but he was a great world creator. And it really wasn’t until I read The fifth head of Cerberus that I have” New Sun Book. And then I said, “Oh, now I get it. He was the greatest science fiction writer who ever lived.” And that’s really what I told everyone after that.
James Wynn on Gene Wolfe’s interpretation:
The thing about Wolfe is that he is very alluring. So it is difficult to know where the text ends and where the allusion begins. Apparently there are allusions to the life of Christ in New Sun Book. You have to get about that. Inca god inti or Apu-punchau is an important aspect. And when you go through some of the myths about Apu-punchau, you start to realize, “Oh, there’s some connection between this Severian friend and the Inca god of the sun.” You can’t just read this story deductively, and it’s something like a little drum that I always beat. You have to read it inductively. You’re invited to shoot a story to connect the points, because honestly, there aren’t enough points for you to eliminate all the “impossibles” and end up with only the “necessary”.
Craig Brewer on Alzabo Soup and Gene Wolfe Literary Podcast:
We always talk to people who are like, “I listened to all the other podcasts and I’m glad you started, because now I can watch another,” and we still find them. something new and different. things to say. We all have different approaches. The Alzabo Soup the boys did an unspoiled handshake on your first read New Sun Book. Now they are on The long book of the sun. And Gene Wolf Literary Podcast The boys are going through their entire careers chronologically. They started with his first stories and are still in the middle of his novel Peace right away. And then we come in and we say, “No, we’re going to pretend you’ve heard and read all that stuff over and over again, and we’re going to be deep in the weeds. “We don’t know if we have 10 people interested, and so the fact that we have so many people who are still interested now is an amazing thing.
Craig Brewer on strange novels:
I often consider Wolfe to be a really weird writer. And when you read the weird novel, you go in and its surrealism and weirdness are taken for granted. It should have been something—yes, you solved the puzzle, what do you think the consequences would be—but with its odd writing style, you don’t get discouraged if the answer doesn’t immediately clarify itself. . I think sometimes that’s a problem people have, which is they’re like, “Well, Wolfe, if he’s writing science fiction, OK, I need an explanation. Ultimately I need to know how everything is in perfect order so I can go back and map everything in there.” And I don’t claim it’s there, like that. The answers you’re looking for may be there thematically or they may be there on a more metaphorical level.
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