I had completely forgotten that Eco used that in Name of the Rose. One of my favorite authors, even if it takes me 2 chapters to figure out what he's on about. My favorite of his is his book of essays-How to Travel With a Salmon.
Tara: That was funny if you've studied Taglarin mystic rites and... are a total dork... Riley: Then how come Xander didn't laugh?
'Selfless'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Daisy Jane - Jan 24, 2008 8:21:30 pm PST #4849 of 28343
"This bar smells like kerosene and stripper tears."
-t - Jan 24, 2008 8:45:38 pm PST #4850 of 28343
I am a woman of various inclinations and only some of the time are they to burn everything down in frustration
My favorite version of that is The Handmaid's Tale. The background is supposed to be that the story was constructed from audio cassettes recorded by the narrator that were found unlabelled all jumbled together so the order had to be guessed at.
I guess it's less likely to fool you when the setting is the future, but it's pretty nifty.
DavidS - Jan 24, 2008 8:56:08 pm PST #4851 of 28343
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
It's a very common literary technique. In fact, the earliest novels were often epistolatory novels which operated under that conceit - that you'd stumbled across a stash of letters in your grandmother's attic.
Fantasy and science fiction novels in particular favor that trope.
Connie Neil - Jan 24, 2008 9:26:49 pm PST #4852 of 28343
brillig
Lots of "rediscovered" Sherlock Holmes stories are tales that the "editor" found when he stumbled across a stash of Watson's papers. Personally, I find the "footnotes" that get put in those stories--I'm looking at you, Nicholas Meyers--to be masterbatory self-indulgence, because anyone familiar with Holmes knows the "editor" didn't spend hours toiling over some eccentricity in Watson's handwriting.
Atropa - Jan 24, 2008 9:45:09 pm PST #4853 of 28343
The artist formerly associated with cupcakes.
It's a very common literary technique. In fact, the earliest novels were often epistolatory novels which operated under that conceit - that you'd stumbled across a stash of letters in your grandmother's attic.
Dracula! All letters and journal entries.
Miracleman - Jan 25, 2008 4:20:28 am PST #4854 of 28343
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020
Gene Wolf also uses this trope in his "New Sun" series. It's supposedly reconstructed and translated from manuscripts from the far future brought back to the....slightly nearer future. Somehow.
Jessica - Jan 25, 2008 4:28:48 am PST #4855 of 28343
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Yeah, all of Wolfe's "___ of the ____ Sun" books have some kind of narrative frame like that. And they all wrap around and connect to each other eventually in what is I'm sure a really impressive way if only I could follow it.
I love the guy, but those books are dense.
Miracleman - Jan 25, 2008 4:31:09 am PST #4856 of 28343
No, I don't think I will - me, quoting Captain Steve Rogers, to all of 2020
I love the guy, but those books are dense.
True dat.
megan walker - Jan 25, 2008 6:51:02 am PST #4857 of 28343
"What kind of magical sunshine and lollipop world do you live in? Because you need to be medicated."-SFist
It's a very common literary technique. In fact, the earliest novels were often epistolatory novels which operated under that conceit - that you'd stumbled across a stash of letters in your grandmother's attic.
Far too common nowadays I'd say. I'm really tired of it. Just tell a story already.
Aims - Jan 25, 2008 7:17:31 am PST #4858 of 28343
Shit's all sorts of different now.
The only way that device could be better is if the filmmaker made the reading of the letters a montage to "Halleluiah".