The Book of the New Sun

Questions About The Book of the New Sun

by Gene Wolfe

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Answered Questions (2)

Is this one of those books that is great because that is what people are supposed to say, or is it in fact great based on it own merits?I find most classics fit that the category because people are sheep and don't want to appear as if they had "missed" the greatness of the book. I don't have the time to invest in a so-so book because people won't say it's crap.
Miles Johnson This book demands a lot of investment. I would say that as much as any book I've ever read it demands a rereading; it's meant to be reread, or even re…moreThis book demands a lot of investment. I would say that as much as any book I've ever read it demands a rereading; it's meant to be reread, or even researched. It's usually criticized of being cold and meandering, but that's also the spell of the book -- it's absolutely swollen with genre-bending omens and echoes of powers storming behind the fabric of our experience that never end but never reveal themselves. I like Ursula K. Le Guin's comment: "The groundnote of it all is human pain, so that this fantasy has the weight of vision." The book's most compelling fantasy/sci-fi element is the way experience is augmented, and this is furthermore an allegorical exploration of religious phenomenology, hemeneutics, on and on... There are aliens, time-travel, etc., but they're almost a footnote to the experience of body-snatching with which the book is preoccupied.(less)
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Ok, so the book requires a second reading, according to the author, the narrator and many readers. I can dig that. But my question is, should I go ahead and read #5, the Urth of the New Sun, before re-reading this? Or should I try to decipher this thing alone, by itself? What would you recommend?
Ryan Thistlethwaite For anyone else still interested in the answer to this I think it is worth pointing out that Urth of the New Sun isn't only the 5th book. In many ways…moreFor anyone else still interested in the answer to this I think it is worth pointing out that Urth of the New Sun isn't only the 5th book. In many ways all of the Solar Cycle books are required to get the full picture. They're standalone (as far as each series itself goes) but all together paint a deeper picture.(less)
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