Welcome back, Friends! Let’s continue this fun perusal through books recommended to me by you fantastical fellow creatives.
The genre tastes here will vary widely, so bring your sparkling water to cleanse the palate between sips. We continue on with…
What does a reader experience in those opening pages, and what lessons can a writer take away in studying but a few paragraphs? Let’s find out!
If you do not see the audio player above, you can access the podcast here.
This book was recommended to me by indie author Paul Andruss. I do hope you check out his beautiful blog and books!
If there are any stories you would like to recommend for sipping on this podcast, let me know in the comments below! I’d also welcome reading any indie authors’ own stories. Let us savor on, read on–oh wait, I was just getting to that. 🙂
Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!
Jean Lee's World 
Just listened Jean- and an excellent perfromance as always- loved the old miner-49er voice for the pilgrim. You have a long of strong instincts for the story- and your instincts are right.
Utlimately nothing is left unexplained or muddy in the book. I am not too sure that today’s writers have the skill to gradually unfold a world before your eyes in small intimate parcels, each morsel character driven and the whole being greater than the sum of the parts (or if indeed today’s readers require it.) but Miller does it beautifuly. As does Atwood in Testaments (you mentioned The Handmaid’s Tale) and some decades earlier than Atwood, Faye Weldon in Live and Loves of a She Devil (a 900 page story written in about 200 pages in short bursts of present tense prose).
I’m guessing that Fiat Homo comes from 2 pivotal statements in the Bible: Fiat lux – let there be light in Genesis and Ecce Homo- Behold the Man – Pilate at Jesus’ trial. You hit it square on the head comparing it to the Name of the Rose (written 30 years later – canticle written in 1959). This is a new Dark Age where literacy is preserved by the church. The hermit figure provides an interesting archetype- which is heavily hinted at by references- Adonai being a clue. There is a similar figure in Vidal’s Mesiah, except she claims to be immortal whereas the pilgrim (the same pilgrim?) appears in each section of the novel set 600 years apart and never claims anything.
Because the novel is written in 3 sections 600 years apart the reader gets to meet the actual characters and the discover the legends they subsequently become- really interesting from an historians POV as this is exactly what has happened when we try to chase down many legendary figures from King Arthur to Saint Patrick and St David and the other Celtic saints.
Again you are right- it is a dense book but it never disapoints despite the fact it was written 60 years ago – apparantly never been out of print, and something I have meant to read for years. But the journey is definitely worth it.
I could go on all day but you will be glad to hear that I will now zip it. Thanks for all the lovely things you said about me. If I were capable of humility I would feel humbled by such lavish (verily a canticle of) praise. All my luv mate Paul
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I’m always happy to share, my friend! And I’m thankful you shared this with me. Your message here reminds me of another bit of dystopia, but for younger folks–Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve. Mankind has obliterated itself and the planet to the point the very plates of Earth’s crust are not stable, so cities must become mobile or crumble. The worldbuilding involved in the history here was GLORIOUS fun, and yet there’s still that sadness as a reader when witnessing mankind make the same foolish, ambitious mistakes over, and over, and over. We destroy the world, cast it to the Dark Ages, build anew, forget our own sins, and then…we start again.
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Jean Don’t believe it huge fan. Mortal Engins had me hooked from the first paragraph- not only bought the book after reading that but also went home and rewrote the first page of Thomas the Rhymer hoping to get the same hook! Great Minds eh? (and let’s forget the big about fools seldom differing, shall we?)
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I think you’re having a lot of fun doing this.
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I am! And it’s forcing me to read new things I’ve not have tried before, which is important. If I’m insisting my kids try new things, I should probably follow suit, lol.
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A Canticle is one of my faves! 😀
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How awesome! If you have any other stories you’d like me to sample here, please let me know!
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All right! Here’s one 🙂 If you want to follow Miller’s Canticle thread, you can do no better than Stephenson’s Anathem 😀
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Pingback: A Canticle for Jean Lee – Paul Andruss
Some publicity returned with thanks
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This looks so good. I love listening to your take on this. You are so good at this.
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Many thank, my friend! I’ve been enjoying it so far…though I’ll enjoy it more when the kids don’t bang on the door demanding peanut butter when I’m reading, the buggers….
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Love the name of this book.
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Ditto. 🙂
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No written communication? Oh. Wow. Love the way you do these, Jean!
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