Gene Wolfe, "Mute"
A brother and sister come home after the apocalypse or something.
(from Wastelands)
I took two days to read this one and that was a mistake because the author has no real interest in saying what's going on. There are all these clues but I just can't seem to put them together. Interesting, nonetheless.
posted by Patrick Rapa @ 11:59 PM
3 Comments:
I think you missed an important clue. Try mapping the house and the wall and you'll make an interesting discovery.
I’m with you OP — I felt like an idiot after reading it (several times) and not figuring out what was supposed to be so great about it.
Only after searching online did I learn it relies pretty heavily on Through the Looking–Glass. My guess is the kids are stuck inside a TV.
Everyone seems to make a big deal about the “big twist” that they can’t leave the immediate area of the house but I thought that was just about the only clear part of the whole story. I kept re–reading it thinking I was missing something bigger. And maybe I am…
I don’t understand other parts like the ghost (?) of their dad, why Jimmy is almost never referred to by name (it’s almost always “her brother”), etc. Especially the pedophilia / incest at the very end — what’s that all about?
One of the comments I found from Wolfe online is that Jill (the girl in the story) is nearing the age where she’s going to begin mensturating. So I suppose that must have something to do with the story?!
This Gene Wolfe guy is hailed as a literary genius but he seems more like an overrated pervert to me.
I’m with you OP — I felt like an idiot after reading it (several times) and not figuring out what was supposed to be so great about it.
Only after searching online did I learn it relies pretty heavily on Through the Looking–Glass. My guess is the kids are stuck inside a TV.
Everyone seems to make a big deal about the “big twist” that they can’t leave the immediate area of the house but I thought that was just about the only clear part of the whole story. I kept re–reading it thinking I was missing something bigger. And maybe I am…
I don’t understand other parts like the ghost (?) of their dad, why Jimmy is almost never referred to by name (it’s almost always “her brother”), etc. Especially the pedophilia / incest at the very end — what’s that all about?
One of the comments I found from Wolfe about this story is that Jill (the girl in the story) is nearing the age where she’s going to begin mensturating. So I suppose that must have something to do with the story?!
This Gene Wolfe guy is hailed as a literary genius but he seems more like an overrated pervert to me.
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