Theos-Talk Archives (November 2002 Message tt00852)

--- In theos-talk@y..., leonmaurer@a... wrote:
> I was given it by my father when I was 12. I was an obedient son, 
read it 
> from cover to cover, and remember it as being fascinating. 
Although, I can't 
> remember what I got out of it -- except the bicycle my dad promised 
me and, 
> maybe the ability to wade through entire dry textbooks in college 
before 
> starting a course (which made professor's think I was a wiz, and 
saved a lot 
> of homework study time :-). 
> 
Plenty of people swear by it, some saying it's the wisest book every 
written. For me, the problem is that it's didactic fiction and that 
is an inherently unsatisfactory combination. I can read didactic 
works with pleasure, and fiction with pleasure, but didacticism ruins 
the enjoyment of fiction. If it's subtle, not such a problem, e.g. 
the Shikasta novels by Doris Lessing.

Cheers,

PJ