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Monday, January 28, 2008

Thoughts on the Dark Tower series. Stephen King.

I believe that King did not know where the story was going when he wrote the first book or two. This may, of course, strengthen his argument that the story was told through him rather than by him. Still, he seems undecided as to the reality of his characters and their worlds. Are we to take this series merely as a tale told by a "word smith," or are we to believe in it? Are these characters going to connect with us in a deep way, or are they only part of King's personal mythology? Or, is Stephen King opening himself up, as few authors do, and allowing us full access to his imagination and subconscious so that we may identify with what he hopes is a universal tale? I opt for this last theory.

One must wonder how he and the series will be regarded in 100 years. Will King be the Dickens of our time, in which case vast reference volumes and concordances shall be written? Or will he be yet another semi-forgotten author which just a few people will be interested in? This series is good; his writing matures (yet calcifies) over the 30 years it took him to write it. This may be his best shot at respectability and remembrance amongst our posterity.

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The Dark Tower. Stephen King.

The Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower.
Stephen King.
Grant: 2004.

[warning: plot spoilers]
The final volume in this interesting series is as good as the first. All the good guys and the bad buys die -- including some real tear-jerking moments -- except Susannah (who gives up--a very disappointing move on King's part) and Roland. He, of course, successfully reaches the Dark Tower. As he ascends, he passes through rooms, each of which encapsulates one moment, one part of his life. When he at last reaches the top and opens the door, the horrible truth comes to him: he has done this already, perhaps an infinite number of times. He is immediately sent back to the desert, chasing the man in black (the opening scene of Gunslinger, already forgetting what he knew. King could have made this a great commentary on the curse of a character who has to relive his painful life each time the book is read anew (he is, after all, aware that he is a character), but he backs away from this by changing one detail, which implies that next time Roland goes through this, he might find redemption, or at least be one step closer. Oh well, at least it's a positive message of perseverance and hope.

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Sails of Hope. Simon Wiesenthal.


Simon Wiesenthal.
Macmillan: 1973.

A fast and interesting read which proposes that Columbus was either a converted Jew, a crypto-Jew (marrano), or came from a family of conversos. Wiesenthal is never foolish (or confident) enough to make a solid claim, and indeed, his scholarship is definitely at an interested amateur level, but he draws on the research of others and does two things: he shows that Columbus being Jewish or of Jewish descent is an Occam's razor for many of the unanswered questions about him, and he also poses a few questions that lead one to accept his idea, at least as a working hypothesis.

The bulk of the book, actually, deals with the plight, importance, and fate of Jews in Spain; this in itself makes for interesting reading.

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