book of the new sun

>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unreliable_narrator
Hope that helps

He lies to everyone, including the reader.

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>tfw you've read BOTNS twice but still don't feel like you "get it"

>>9866375
Yeah, I get that. I remember he mentioned that somewhere in the first volume

How am I supposed to know what's the truth if mah boi Severian is a fucking liar? For all I know this whole book could be a fucking lie

>>9866502
It's fiction anon

>>9866502
The difference between his characterization of other people and their actions towards him later on are somewhat dissonant

The unreliability of Severians monologue is overstated. Yes, he lies and sometimes leaves out important details when its convenient, but you should trust Severian for now and ask questions later. It's obvious when he exaggerates though. Every girl seemingly falls in love with him at first sight besides being a scawny torturer.

boys I started this recently and it's pretty good. I see there are extra series after the book of the new sun books. are they worth it?

>>9867034

Is Severian schizophrenic? My best friend is schizophrenic and he seems to have all of the same symptoms including
>Every girl seemingly falls in love with him at first sight besides being a scrawny torturer.

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>>9867176
You know what? From a certain point of view, yes, Severian IS schizophrenic. Or, rather, his state of mind (state of soul, really) is roughly equivalent to being schizophrenic. You'll understand as you get into the book.

>>9867203
I'm already near the end of book 2

when am i gonna start understanding things ;_;

>>9867217
you mean claw of the concilliator? in the next one

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>>9866350
who else heard about this book from sammy?

>>9867403
sammy who?

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>>9867407
this is 4chan. you should know who.

>>9867403
I keep hearing that he likes the book but where has he mentioned it? I only know his show and the vertical videos.

>>9867412
who?

>>9866502
Well for one thing, he frequently gets some detail wrong immediately after he claims he has a perfect memory. And the whole scene in both the brothel and when he's drunk after the feast should ring alarm bells for you.

>>9867403
>>9867412
>>>/reddit/

>>9867403
The fact that his retarded fanbase now pops up in every Wolfe thread on /lit/ fucking sucks.

How challenging is this book, guys?

I really want to read it but I've never read Gene Wolfe before. Should I ease in with Fifth Head of Cerberus?

>>9868008
Just fucking read the book if it interests you.
Why is /lit/ so insecure in their own apprehension?
You're going to come back here with the same questions everyone has on their first read and then go for a second read when you're done and have a better grasp of the narrative/themes.

>>9868008
It's invitingly challenging. It's not hard to read or get thorough and it doesn't require having footnotes and shit, but you'll have to pay attention to connect the dots. You can jump into it without much problem.
t. original Wolfe shill

>>9868008
Challenging? It’s rather entertaining, and the narrative easy to follow.
It has some hidden layers (see ITT), but you don’t have to catch onto them in order to enjoy the book. It’s not hard to read.

Btw haven’t read Cerberus, but "The Doctor of Death Island and Other Stories and Other Stories" was a nice read, although stylistically not quite on the level of BotNS imho.

>>9868014
Good point, anon. Just trying to see if there's an easier place to sink into Gene Wolfe.

>>9868016
Thanks, will do.

>>9868023
Thanks for the recc, anon, I'll look that up too.

>>9868064
You could conceivably read the whole thing, find nothing amiss and think it a straightforward narrative, and an oddly railroaded one. But then Urth of the New Sun is more obvious and would cast new light on the previous books.

>>9868008
I started Wolfe with The Fifth Head of Cerberus and then Peace. If anything they're probably more complicated than Book of the New Sun, the plot to Cerberus was only worked out a few years ago and nobody knows what the fuck Peace is supposed to be. They're both shorter and excellent introductions to his style however, and I strongly recommend them. You'll get more out of Book of the New Sun and find it significantly easier if you've cut your teeth on Wolfe before your first reading.

I'd recommend starting with Cerberus. Don't be intimidated though, Wolfe is hard to read in a very pleasant way. I consider his writing more interesting and entertaining than most other fantasy/science-fiction writers so even if you don't pick up on all of the nuance you shouldn't ever feel like you're plodding along.

>>9868072
Also don't read Urth of the New Sun until you've read Book of the New Sun twice at least. It's more fun that way.

What do people have to say about Long Sun/Short Sun btw?

>>9868601
Long is mediocre. Short is amazing.

>>9868601
Reading Long atm and loving it. I find myself deliberately taking it slowly to savour it even though I want to read faster. The drip-fed description of the Whorl is awesome.

But like most people who read Wolfe my favourite "Sun" books are still the New Sun.

Haven't read Short yet because you're meant to read it after Long.

>tfw too fucking stupid to realise this was Christian allegory till halfway through, even though Severian literally dies and comes back to life in the first chapter and the title is the most obvious thing in the world

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>>9868601
Long gets annoyingly catholic with extra Chesterton to make it worse, but if you can get past that it's an enjoyable enough story that is considered required reading for Short.

>>9869019
how much exaclty? care to post a excerpt?