Book of the Long Sun is a difficult read. It’s about 1400 pages of world building, character work, theodicy, broken hearts, and a vision of paganism and Christianity that is impossible to undersell in its subtlety. Part three of four seems to be the culprit for most quitters, as it meanders in a way many find intolerable. I can’t blame them.
But the quitters miss out on the earnest honesty of part four, and that’s sad, because it’s there that Wolfe finally gets to the point. And it ain't a comfortable one: the good guys are the ones who forgive. Eventually you have to come face to face with the absolute absurdity of whatever it is you're doing and how pointless it can actually get: children leave you, your goals in life can be totally invalidated by whatever is going on in the world, and you're not the person you thought you were, not now or ever. All the characters in part four meet this looming absurdity. The good ones let go of what once meant so much to them, because doing good is more important than anything they thought was going on. The bad ones hold on to what they think is absurd, even if it would destroy them and others around them. Good grieves. Evil gets even. And thus good wins.
Out of all of the Wolfe's works this is the book I find myself still struggling with the most. To call Book of the Long Sun dense would be an understatement most criminal. If not for the fact that all of the denseness is packed around a plot that’s entertaining I’d just drop it. The issue, of course, is that when I ask myself what I'd have dropped the answer comes up a blank. Everything in here seems logical, and I'd not cut it. That being said, Book of the Long Sun is significantly better on a reread. With an idea of where it’s all going it’s easier to take in the massive plot and character work, not to mention just having a sense that the book isn’t going to drop the ball goes a really long way. Out of all the Wolfe I’ve read Book of the Long Sun is the one I’d recommend the least for an initial read; it’s probably going to take me a dozen reads to wrap my head around this monster. I look forward to it, because this reread was really rewarding, but this isn’t the one I think folks should cut their teeth on.
Some say that Long Sun is only a distant sequel to New and Urth. I fail to see why; this is a very direct thematic sequel. All of the themes from New Sun, from the transmigration of souls to the nature of lies and truth to the necessity of pain and so much more are still here. They’re just not being filtered through a degenerate society and one person trying desperately to not be like the rest of the pack. I will repeat it: this is a direct thematic sequel. The same stuff in New and Urth of the New Sun is being talked about here and has been advanced, like in a true sequel. It just so happens to be all the thematic work of the first two books.
Also of note to me was that anyone who got anything done in the story was not wholly "themselves". Patera Silk, Chenille, Mayteras Marble and Mint, Auk, they were useless to others and themselves until they met an entity beyond themselves. All the above characters meet with the gods and have to contend with them. And after that? They're able to move. Not before. I do not think that an accident, and I do not think that unrealistic. Even the mighty Pas himself had to bring someone else into his soul in order to change. The comparison to the cyborg chems, who take parts from their dead compatriots to upgrade themselves, is very clear. And more than a little disconcerting.
On a personal note I find Silk to be the most challenging of Wolfe's protagonists. While he is definitely not an everyman there is a vulnerability to him that's reminiscent of the archetype. Silk is consistently finding out that there is more to him than he imagined, in the most uncomfortable ways possible: the man of peace and theology is a fantastic thief, fighter, and liar. And unfortunately all the things that he discovers about himself are really important... until they're not. The story would be so much less if being an awful person would solve everything. It doesn't. Silk has to figure it out. And because of Silk's refusal to sell his soul more than he has to, the character is compelling.
I dunno, folks, this is a tough one. If you’re willing to dig into Book of the Long Sun and give it your time it’s an amazing book. Wolfe epitomizes the juggling of many plates. He’s doing some stuff here I found truly revolutionary. But you have to be willing to really dig. If you are I think you’ll find gold. If not you’ll have problems.
And I don’t think you can get more fair than that.
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