I'm excited to hear that a timeline project is already in the works. I gave thought to the project too, but never got further than scribbling dates in the margins of my text (My OEB edition has become my working text).

The concept of 'thinning' is indeed fascinating with regard to the Quartet. What's of particular interest to me is the relationship of these legendary and mythical characters to their era. In the first two novels, Strongbow, Wallenstein, J.L. Szondi all seem to be men of action, men of accomplishment, men who define or stand as icons in their era. In the last two novels, the mythical characters (Big Belle and Little Alice, Abu Musa and Moses the Ethiopian) all seem to be aliens, exiled either to the Nile or the orchard: outsiders in the social construct.

There is just so much to work with here, yet so little has thus far been done with it. Unbelievable. I'll be anxious to hear the progress of your translation. It seems that in the progress you are uncovering some wonderful material surrounding the depth of Whittemore's craft.

Take care,
Joseph

--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
:
:
: