Jane Austen
Emma
This is probably my fourth? fifth? reading of Emma. I am now in midst of my regular rereading of Austen's works, but I probably won't post extensively on them, mainly because I can't step back sufficiently to comment coherently. But, occasionally a thought may strike me, as it has just recently while reading Pride and Prejudice. This will be a much, much shorter post, just an odd thought.
In the spirit of the novel, here's a riddle (well, maybe not a riddle):
Mr. Knightly (George) got the wife he wanted, but she was not the best wife for him.
Frank Churchill got the wife he wanted, but she wasn't the wife he deserved.
Emma Woodhouse got the husband she wanted, but he wasn't the husband she deserved.
Jane Fairfax got the husband she wanted, but he was not the best husband for her.
Comments?
Showing posts with label favorite authors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label favorite authors. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Alfred Bester's Masterpiece: The Stars My Destination, Pt. 2
Alfred Bester
The Stars My Destination
Some random disconnected passing thoughts:
I have read that the original title was Tiger! Tiger! but was changed for some reason. The title possibly may have come from the first line of Blake's poem, "The Tiger."
I know many who prefer the original title, but I, of course, have the opposite view. The only title I knew for decades was The Stars My Destination, so it's become part of it for me. On the other hand, Tiger! Tiger! does fit Gully Foyle, for it is much more closely related to Gully and to the story line, because, if Gully is nothing else, he is a predator. And, then there's that tattoo.
I read and enjoyed the Prologue to TSMD for several reasons. One is that it provided information helpful to the story, and the second reason is its opening paragraph, which struck me as being somewhat familiar. I have reformatted it. Does anyone else think this is remotely familiar to something else?
"This was a golden age,
a time of high adventure,
rich living, and hard dying. . .
but nobody thought so.
This was a future
of fortune and theft,
pillage and rapine,
culture and vice. . .
but nobody admitted it.
This was an age
of extremes,
a fascinating century of freaks. . .
but nobody loved it."
This, however, is how it appeared in the book:
"This was a golden age, a time of high adventure, rich living, and hard dying. . . but nobody thought so. This was a future of fortune and theft, pillage and rapine, culture and vice. . . but nobody admitted it. This was an age of extremes, . . . a fascinating century of freaks. . . but nobody loved it."
And there's even an interesting short story buried there--the discovery of jaunting.
Pyre, a horrific weapon, becomes an important issue in the story, as there is a solar system-wide war going on at this time. Foyle knows the location of Pyre and therefore becomes a person of great interest to the Earth government. A pyre is also a funeral ritual, a traditional way of honoring a leader or important person in some societies. Is this weapon signifying the death of the present human civilization?
Another mythic element that seems relevant is the myth of the Phoenix, a long-lived bird that is the only one of its kind. Every thousand or more years the Phoenix in its nest bursts into flames and arises reborn out of the ashes. Foyle is trapped at the end when the Pyre is set off and as he attempts to escape, makes a discovery that transforms him into being able to jaunte at a new level. And humanity will be transformed from a species limited to the solar system to ultimately a galactic civilization. Both Gully and humanity, in one sense, are reborn.
It's a great story, one that rewards rereading, which I do every couple of years regularly. It's permanently in my TBR bookcase.
The Stars My Destination
Some random disconnected passing thoughts:
I have read that the original title was Tiger! Tiger! but was changed for some reason. The title possibly may have come from the first line of Blake's poem, "The Tiger."
| TIGER, tiger, burning bright | |
| In the forests of the night, | |
| What immortal hand or eye | |
| Could frame thy fearful symmetry? |
I know many who prefer the original title, but I, of course, have the opposite view. The only title I knew for decades was The Stars My Destination, so it's become part of it for me. On the other hand, Tiger! Tiger! does fit Gully Foyle, for it is much more closely related to Gully and to the story line, because, if Gully is nothing else, he is a predator. And, then there's that tattoo.
I read and enjoyed the Prologue to TSMD for several reasons. One is that it provided information helpful to the story, and the second reason is its opening paragraph, which struck me as being somewhat familiar. I have reformatted it. Does anyone else think this is remotely familiar to something else?
"This was a golden age,
a time of high adventure,
rich living, and hard dying. . .
but nobody thought so.
This was a future
of fortune and theft,
pillage and rapine,
culture and vice. . .
but nobody admitted it.
This was an age
of extremes,
a fascinating century of freaks. . .
but nobody loved it."
This, however, is how it appeared in the book:
"This was a golden age, a time of high adventure, rich living, and hard dying. . . but nobody thought so. This was a future of fortune and theft, pillage and rapine, culture and vice. . . but nobody admitted it. This was an age of extremes, . . . a fascinating century of freaks. . . but nobody loved it."
And there's even an interesting short story buried there--the discovery of jaunting.
Pyre, a horrific weapon, becomes an important issue in the story, as there is a solar system-wide war going on at this time. Foyle knows the location of Pyre and therefore becomes a person of great interest to the Earth government. A pyre is also a funeral ritual, a traditional way of honoring a leader or important person in some societies. Is this weapon signifying the death of the present human civilization?
Another mythic element that seems relevant is the myth of the Phoenix, a long-lived bird that is the only one of its kind. Every thousand or more years the Phoenix in its nest bursts into flames and arises reborn out of the ashes. Foyle is trapped at the end when the Pyre is set off and as he attempts to escape, makes a discovery that transforms him into being able to jaunte at a new level. And humanity will be transformed from a species limited to the solar system to ultimately a galactic civilization. Both Gully and humanity, in one sense, are reborn.
It's a great story, one that rewards rereading, which I do every couple of years regularly. It's permanently in my TBR bookcase.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Alfred Bester's Masterpiece: The Stars My Destination, Pt. 1
Alfred Bester
The Stars My Destination
It's been often said that character development is rather weak in SF, as science and technology and problem-solving tend to be the central focus. One very early exception to this is Gully Foyle, the main character in The Stars My Destination (TSMD). When I first read TSMD, I was amazed to find someone who emerged from the crowd. He is now my No. 1 Most Unforgettable SF Character. As an early discarded title suggests, he can best be described as a predator. There are also several other characters who could carry a novel of their own. Some of which are mentioned later.
It's a classic whose literary roots now go back almost two centuries: the revenge tale of Edmund Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo. Both Dantes and Foyle were trapped, and both manage to escape with considerable wealth which they use to remake themselves--from a fishing boat captain to a Count and from a lowly merchant seaman to one of the elite, Foyle of Foyle. And, both have the same goal, revenge on those who trapped them and, ironically, enriched them.
But, before Gully became a revenge-driven predator, he was a cypher, mostly just existing. The following is a picture of his character as reflected "in the official Merchant Marine records.
---------------------------------------------------------
"FOYLE, GULLIVER------AS-128/127:006
EDUCATION: NONE
SKILLS NONE
MERITS NONE
RECOMMENDATIONS NONE
(PERSONNEL COMMENTS)
A man of physical strength and intellectual potential stunted by lack of ambition. Energies at minimum. The stereotype Common Man. Some unexpected shock might possibly awaken him, but Psych cannot find the key. Not recommended for promotion. Has reached a dead end."
------------------------------------------------------------
In the beginning Foyle was a non-entity, barely conscious of himself as a human being. The psychological profile said it would take a shock to awaken Foyle to be able to function at somewhere near his potential. The shock appeared--being abandoned to die by the sister-ship Vorga. Whatever else was missing in Foyle's personality, self preservation was obviously functioning. Once he manages to escape, he changes from a non-entity to a brutal but
intelligent individual driven solely by revenge.
Significant characters in the novel;
Peter Yang-Yeovil (Yin-Yang?): the Spy master who is a direct ancestor of Mencius (a real historical person who was the most famous follower of Confucius--confusion about dates, but could be as early as 385 BC and lived as late as 289 BC).
Saul Dagenham: the radioactive security chief
Robin: the jaunte and social graces teacher, who refuses to become his Romance Instructor
Jiz: frustrated by the restrictions placed on women and turns to crime to gain her freedom, a precursor of numerous female thieves, assassins, and bodyguards found in later cyberpunk novels.
Olivia: the Ice Princess, bored by her luxurious but restricted life who engages in various illegal business ventures.
I found it frustrating to encounter these people so seldom.
I think the creation of Gully Foyle is TSMD's greatest strength. Encountering him back in the 50s was a shock in comparison to the relatively bland and cardboard characters usually found in most SF stories, and in spite of the past 60 years of development of characterization in SF, I consider Gully to still be one of the strongest characters in SF.
Probably the weakest aspect of the novel would be the culture created by jaunting--I think it's a bit thin--it reminds me of many rock-and-roll performances--lots of bright lights, smoke, noise, but a bit thin on substance or quality. While his world isn't as fully developed as Dune, for example, it still comes alive as an hectic, neon-lit, flashing world. My copy is around 250 pages and it would take a lot larger work to really develop the culture to some depth. However, it is fun to read and Bester's satiric eye has nailed the future aristocracy quite well.
Bester has included a number of mythic elements in this work. Gully can be seen as a dying and resurrecting god in one sense, for he does come back after being marooned in space and left to die by another ship, even though it belonged to the same company. He then engages on a quest, not for a Holy Grail but for a far more human reason--revenge.
To be continued
The Stars My Destination
It's been often said that character development is rather weak in SF, as science and technology and problem-solving tend to be the central focus. One very early exception to this is Gully Foyle, the main character in The Stars My Destination (TSMD). When I first read TSMD, I was amazed to find someone who emerged from the crowd. He is now my No. 1 Most Unforgettable SF Character. As an early discarded title suggests, he can best be described as a predator. There are also several other characters who could carry a novel of their own. Some of which are mentioned later.
It's a classic whose literary roots now go back almost two centuries: the revenge tale of Edmund Dantes, The Count of Monte Cristo. Both Dantes and Foyle were trapped, and both manage to escape with considerable wealth which they use to remake themselves--from a fishing boat captain to a Count and from a lowly merchant seaman to one of the elite, Foyle of Foyle. And, both have the same goal, revenge on those who trapped them and, ironically, enriched them.
But, before Gully became a revenge-driven predator, he was a cypher, mostly just existing. The following is a picture of his character as reflected "in the official Merchant Marine records.
---------------------------------------------------------
"FOYLE, GULLIVER------AS-128/127:006
EDUCATION: NONE
SKILLS NONE
MERITS NONE
RECOMMENDATIONS NONE
(PERSONNEL COMMENTS)
A man of physical strength and intellectual potential stunted by lack of ambition. Energies at minimum. The stereotype Common Man. Some unexpected shock might possibly awaken him, but Psych cannot find the key. Not recommended for promotion. Has reached a dead end."
------------------------------------------------------------
Significant characters in the novel;
Peter Yang-Yeovil (Yin-Yang?): the Spy master who is a direct ancestor of Mencius (a real historical person who was the most famous follower of Confucius--confusion about dates, but could be as early as 385 BC and lived as late as 289 BC).
Saul Dagenham: the radioactive security chief
Robin: the jaunte and social graces teacher, who refuses to become his Romance Instructor
Jiz: frustrated by the restrictions placed on women and turns to crime to gain her freedom, a precursor of numerous female thieves, assassins, and bodyguards found in later cyberpunk novels.
Olivia: the Ice Princess, bored by her luxurious but restricted life who engages in various illegal business ventures.
I found it frustrating to encounter these people so seldom.
I think the creation of Gully Foyle is TSMD's greatest strength. Encountering him back in the 50s was a shock in comparison to the relatively bland and cardboard characters usually found in most SF stories, and in spite of the past 60 years of development of characterization in SF, I consider Gully to still be one of the strongest characters in SF.
Probably the weakest aspect of the novel would be the culture created by jaunting--I think it's a bit thin--it reminds me of many rock-and-roll performances--lots of bright lights, smoke, noise, but a bit thin on substance or quality. While his world isn't as fully developed as Dune, for example, it still comes alive as an hectic, neon-lit, flashing world. My copy is around 250 pages and it would take a lot larger work to really develop the culture to some depth. However, it is fun to read and Bester's satiric eye has nailed the future aristocracy quite well.
Bester has included a number of mythic elements in this work. Gully can be seen as a dying and resurrecting god in one sense, for he does come back after being marooned in space and left to die by another ship, even though it belonged to the same company. He then engages on a quest, not for a Holy Grail but for a far more human reason--revenge.
To be continued
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