You are perfectly right about the many layers of the books. When I was writing an essay on Whittemore and the books, I read them intensively twice and was totally immersed in Whittemore's world. I found the repetitive motifs were mesmeric and his writing style addictive.

At a shallow level the books can seem very silly at times, but the overall feeling Whittemore conveys is melancholy.

Anne

--Previous Message--
: I have to disagree with "Angevin
: Arbalest", of course (but what a
: wonderful moniker!), having spent several
: weeks immersed in Sinai Tapestry--today sees
: the completion of the first draft of my
: translation.
: Point of view matters in this book. Stern,
: for instance, is not the same man as seen by
: O'Sullivan Beare or by Haj Harun. In turn,
: each character sometimes acquires a mythic
: dimension and becomes, in the eye of the
: beholder, God or "Jaysus" or a
: genie.
: A story told at some point in space and time
: is not the same when told elsewhere/elsewhen.
: Go back to your Borges for some pointers.
: This book is like the city of Jerusalem it
: describes: a succession of strata, each one
: hiding the other while explaining it. You
: have to see past the surface -- though it is
: brilliant enough.
: Back to work.
: Have a nice day,
: Jean-Daniel
: PS 1: Speaking of the surface, that is to say
: Whittemore's writing style: I noticed as I
: was translating the book that he never once
: uses an exclamation point (!). Periods,
: commas, question marks (.,?) are there, all
: right, but now I'll have to check for
: semicolons and... darn, how do you say ( in
: English?
: PS 2: Please note that Haj Harun quotes
: Sancho Pansa at one time. Another layer...
:
: --Previous Message--
: All comments are welcome, though we would
: prefer them to be positive.
: It is however a sad fact that there are
: people out there who just don't like
: Whittemore's books or don't GET him, just as
: there are writers who don't grab me even
: though other people rave about them.
: I would be interested to learn what you would
: class as a good read or who your favorite
: authors are.
: Then I might have some idea of where you're
: coming from.
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