Traveller’s Comments (group member since Jan 14, 2015)

Traveller’s comments from the On Paths Unknown group.

Thread for Discussion of Part 2 of "The City".
Watch this space.

Derek wrote: "Traveller wrote: "I'm sure the author enjoys math every bit as much as his character does."

I think he'd have to. It's difficult to imagine someone digging into the mathematics just for research f..."

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's using her as an excuse to wax forth about his hobby horses. XD I'm not complaining, mind.

Re Fermat - yeah the maths again. I'm sure the author enjoys math every bit as much as his character does.

Re the sarcasm, before reading your comments already, I had wanted to comment on the sarcasm. Smilla has quite a biting sense of sarcasm, so I guess it's hard to sift out which is not. But don't spoiler me; it's my first time!

I suppose I had better make the next thread, eh? :P

Coffeh-drinkers, we're OK! (In more ways than one).
http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/1...

I apologize if someone had already linked to this: http://arstechnica.com/the-multiverse...

Hi Djamel! You are very welcome! Hope you'll join in on discussions such as the ones on Eliot, Shakespeare, Dickens, Collins and Stoppard that we have planned for the first half of this year. :)

Yeah, I also wondered at that, and thought that perhaps "pigs" was meant in the sense not of uncleanliness, but rather unkindness, because of the fact that the dogs would suffer from the heat in houses.

It's very tricky indeed, especially when the emotional state of the artist tended to fluctuate.
...but also, many a work that had originally been rejected by the world become prized works of art or literature later on, so I'm inclined to want to look at the artists's reasons for wanting it destroyed.
If because they thought the work was bad/ would be poorly received, publish anyway. If because of deeply private content, rather respect their wishes for privacy.

Aplogies that I'm running a bit late with the discussion itself, but here's a good start: tra·duced
1
: to expose to shame or blame by means of falsehood and misrepresentation
:D

I find that the novel starts off in more of a fairy-tale-like vein than I remember Kafka's style from The Metamorphisis, which although surreal in content, seemed rather dry in style, if you know what I mean.

This is quite a controversial book in the sense that Kafka did not live to finish it. It was finished by those close enough to him to believe they knew how he would have ended it. Some of the controversy pertains to whether Kafka would have finished it at all, even had he lived longer.

In what seems to have been a labor of love, his friend Max Brod finished the work for him, and proceeded to have all of Kafka's works published, against the wishes of the latter, who requested to have his work burned upon his death.

Since Kafka's work The Metamorphosis has in the meantime become iconic of the surrealist movement and of surrealism in literature, it is hard to imagine a literary world sans any Kafka in it.

This brings up an interesting question: "Should authors' works be published posthumously even if doing so would be going against the author's wishes?" It would be an interesting point for us to discuss - I'd love to hear your opinions on the matter.

Interesting observation, Derek. I've been meaning to look up the author's ethnicity.

As for the attraction for Isaiah , I suspect there must be a sort of mystery to Euclid, like secrets explored, and then of course, Smilla's passion for it, and the fact that they're both Greenlanders and that he's an outsider like her, but also, lonely.

It's becoming a bit much to try and post something on every single card he uses, so I think I'll just do those of most interest.

In any case, I rather liked the doomed bride story- it's a nice twist. The alchemist story would have been all right as a quick condemnation of materialism, but for me, Calvino is getting his stories mixed up too much. I mean, Faust sold his sold for love and eternal youth, not for wealth and material riches, so, i don;'t see the Faust connection beyond the selling of the soul. I would rather personally connect the alchemist to King Midas, who "sold" his loved ones (soul, metaphorically) for material wealth. ..and then the city idea just seems kind of glommed on. So, the Alchemist story gets 3/10 from me.

Interesting. :)

Anyway, I love how Smilla loves her maths.
"Then there is the feeling that always comes over me at the mere thought of that book: veneration. The knowledge that it is the foundation, the boundary. That if you work your way backwards, past Lobachevsky and Newton and as far back as you can go, you end up at Euclid.

Next thread here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Discussion thread for chapters 4 to 11 of part 1: The City.
I struggled a bit to try and figure out the relationship between Smilla and Isaiah.

Weird little factoid: "They discovered that the Greenlanders, whom they regarded as a transitional form of ape, had the largest skulls in the world. " :P
Very early on in the book already, we are introduced to other ethnicities' scorn for the Greenlanders.

Hi! A broadcast was sent out to members in this regard. In case it is too short notice - that's okay. That possibility is also covered in our poll regarding this issue, which can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...

Feedback on the poll thread will be appreciated- it was set up especially for feedback on how we're going to handle this. Thanks! :)

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Wow, I knew I should have stayed out of here. The evil in this thread is deep indeed."

You could always add to the horror, Amy. I know you have it in you....

Interesting http://arstechnica.com/science/2016/0...

Well! No wonder Miss Smilla has a rather special sense for or feeling for snow: He mother's people have the following words for snow:
Inuktitut words for snow

aaniuvak 'perpetual snow patch
aksakaaqtuq 'snowball'
aluiqqaniq 'overhanging snow'
alutsiniq 'deep snow hollow'
aniu 'snow for drinking'
apijuq 'covered with snow'
apigianngaut 'first snow'
apilraun/apilraut 'firs layer of snow'
apun/aput 'snow on the ground'
apujjaqsuqtuq 'digs it out of the snow'
aputainnaruuvuq 'has much snow on clothes'
apusialukpuq 'covered with a lot of snow'
apusimatiqtuq 'snow storming'
apusimiriikkusijuq 'has placed it on top of snow covered'
apummiungujut 'tent on snow'
aputisiut ;used for snow/snow-probe/knife'
aqilluqqaq 'soft under crust snow'
atairranaqtuq 'squeaky snow'
autturunniq 'snow pressed melted frozen'
aujaqsuittuq 'eternal snow'
auviq/savuujaqtuaq/qulluaqtuq 'snow block'
igluvijaq 'snow house'
ijaruajuq 'snow in the eye'
ijaruvak 'new soft snow (which has packed)'
illaujait 'dark ice'
illaujiniq 'candle'
illiti 'vertical snow house wall'
immiugaq 'ice water'
immiuqtuq 'ice melts'
immiugainnaatuq 'snow water'
ivrarniq 'moderately soft snow'
ivunrit 'piled ice'
ivvuit 'rough ice'
kakkikulivuq 'wind blows snow'
kanangnaq 'snow wind'
kapuqqalukpuq 'look for snow house'
kapuraq 'test the snow'
kalirraq 'sound of sled in snow'
kaniqtuq 'ice crystal fall'
kavisilaq 'roughened snow'
kijjiqpuq 'snow house drips'
kiniq 'viscous snow'
kiniqtaq 'viscous mixture of snow and water'
kusugaq 'icicle'
kuvvisiq 'sprinkles new snow'
makkaq 'snow house dome'
mannguktuq 'melting snow'
mannguuktiqtuq 'stuck in melting snow'
manngumaaqsijuq 'walk in soft snow'
makpattuq 'snow becomes flat'
maqpakitigaq 'snow blocks cut horizontally'
masak 'slush'
matsaaq 'half melting snow'
masangnaqsijuq 'wet snow'
maujaq 'deep snow'
mimiqpaaq 'knob on rod to search for snow house snow'
misaliraq 'snow and water mixed'
muranaq/muruiniq 'soft ground or snow'
murjuniq 'mixture of water and ice'
naannguaq 'snow mound'
nataqqurnaq 'sleet'
natiruviaktuq 'ground drifting'
nilak 'freshwater ice'
nilaruvak 'snow marbles'
ninniq 'pile snow'
niummak 'deep soft newly-fallen snow'
nutigiikkut 'something to prevent the snow from getting a burnt taste'
patuktuq 'ice crystal'
piiqsiliqtuq 'beginning to snow'
piiqturiniqtaataq 'ligh snow'
piqsiqtuq 'snow blowing/blizzard'
piqtuluk 'blowing snow'
puikkangajuq 'salt on snow'
pukaq 'uniformly soft snow'
pukak 'sugar snow'
pukajaaq 'granular/crystallized snow'
pukaingajuq 'harder but breakable snow'
qairniq 'flat ice'
qaniktuq 'SNOW/falling snow'
qanikkuk 'wet falling snow'
qaniaraq 'light falling snow'
qaniut 'fully snow/on the ground snow'
qanniapiktuq 'snow flurry'
qanniqtuq 'snow fall'
qannitaijaqtuq 'snow removed'
qaquviraq 'snow house roof'
qarruaq 'soft snow'
qilaktittuq 'soft snow
qilatirinaq 'snow house roof hole'
qillaaniq 'sparking snow'
qimugjuk 'snow drift/shaped snow'
qingainnguq 'brilliant ice crystals falling'
qiqirrituq 'snow squeaky once'
qiqumaaq 'snow with frozen surface'
qiqsuqaq glazed snow in thaw time
qiqsuqaktuq 'Snow crusted'
qukaarnaqtuq 'Light snow is made of small flakes or crystals of snow'
quasaq 'glare ice'
quna 'slush ice'
saligaq 'fashion snow blocks'
salittutuq 'thin block for snow'
sapgut 'rod with rounded end for testing snow for snow house'
sapgusaqtuq 'test snow with snow rod'
siiminnasiuqtuq 'sled catches on hard snow'
siku 'ice'
sikuliaq 'youngest ice'
siqumniq 'ice pan/broken ice'
sikuuttuq/immiugaksaq 'freshwater ice'
sisuuq 'avalanche'
sisaguqpaa 'compress snow'
sitilluqqaq 'harder packed snow'
taluaq 'snow screen'
tammaaqaaqtuq 'new snow house (and feels cold)'
tiluttuut 'snow rod'
tugaliaq 'ice house'
tugu 'shore ice'
tukiqsinilijuq 'harden snow into ice'
tullaaliuqpuq 'make snow house with trodden snow '
tuvaq 'ice floe/shorefast ce'
tuvaruqpuq 'ice is thick'
turuuq 'ice chiseler'
uqalujaq 'snow lump'
uqaluraq 'tongue-like snow drift'
uqqusiiqtutuq 'flurry of hail/snow'

Thanks Ruth. Interesting, also, that Isaiah and Smilla's association starts over Euclid's Elements . I have a feeling maths is a theme that runs through the book?

Oh hey, look what I found when I was looking for Rasmus Klump on the Ice Cap ! http://www.bookdrum.com/books/miss-sm...

Voting can start on what to call the list consisting of books which appear on all the lists.

The other list, The BIG one, I think we'll simply call The Ruthless (Ruthness?) Booklist or, RUTHLESSNESS. ;)

:P So I see...

Okay, this weekend, I will gather up all the lists, and extract 2 new lists: 1 will be all the books that appear simultaneously on, say 10 of these lists (in other words, those books that appear on all the lists), and the other list, we'll call our "Ruth(less)" list, and that one will be a conglomeration of all the lists.

Does that satisfy your oh-so-evil heart, my partner in Terror (view spoiler)[ AWSUMNESS (hide spoiler)] ? ;)