Thanks once again for your prompt response. Your dedication to this sight and its visitors is commendable. I'm happy to ear that you have found an excuse, albeit a rather productive one, to delve into the Quartet once again.

My semester recently ended and I, too, have begun re-reading Sinai Tapestry during the break. The first section of this novel may very well be my favorite, if I dare choose one, bit of Whittemore craft. That the novel begins with the birth of Strongbow, a character built upon notions of chaos, disorder, and contradiction, and ends with his retirement to the Yemen after Sophia has locked away Wallenstein, God, the very foundation of order, is simply amazing. The discourse of each character was at odds with the other and it is not surprising, to this reader, that Strongbowism reigned supreme.

Sorry for the rant. I get carried away in the world of EW.

Take care,
Joe
--Previous Message--
: Pleased to meet you, Joseph.
:
: I agree with you about historicizing
: Whittemore's world.
:
: As I translated Sinai Tapestry, I put
: together a timeline of the events in the
: book, which editor Gerard Klein decided to
: publish as an appendix of the French
: edition.
:
: I'm currently completing this timeline as I
: translate Jerusalem Poker, and it'll
: eventually cover the whole Quartet.
:
: Maybe Anne'll be interested in an English
: translation for this site. As a starting
: point to the historicizing project...
:
: Back to deadline-fighting.
:
: Jean-Daniel
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hello Anne. I am very pleased to again visit
: the site and see such engaging and recent
: conversation regarding Whittemore. I am only
: disappointed that I am joining, really
: reacting to, the discussion so late.
:
: Anyway, the notion of historicizing
: Whittemore's world seems to me the first
: major step in situating his novels into some
: kind of ideological framework. It seems,
: too, a huge undertaking. His apparent
: knowledge and intentional weaving of the
: most obscure historical facts is still
: relatively unresearched. I suspect that
: each of Whittemore's characters, whether
: some historical archetype or synthesis of
: several historical figures, or an image of
: someone close to him, or formerly close to
: him, or Whittemore himself, conceals some
: relevance to a factual, documented
: individual. Each setting too, a situation
: crafted with an actual, but often
: manipulated historical event close in mind.
: That the characters and events often do not
: interact chronologically is only further
: testament to his craft. This, along with
: his rhetorical references to other works and
: his denunciation of, yet direct application
: of modern and contemporary theorists,
: Whittemore's world seems to reflect the
: random and chaotic (yet historically
: influenced) ideals as evidenced in
: Strongbowism. To consider the task of
: historicizing all four (or five) novels is
: enough discussion, or material for a
: website, for the present.
:
: Again, I really enjoyed your and
: Jean-Daniel's discussion surrounding the
: creation of a website dedicated to
: historicizing Whittemore's world. I would be
: delighted to contribute.
:
: Take care,
: Joseph
:
:
: