Thunder And Roses (Complete Stories Of Theodore Sturgeon #4) (1997) - Plot & Excerpts
It is a marvel to behold, how Sturgeon the apprentice burst into the master Sturgeon. Bang at the start of the book too: smiling at you along with Robin English from "Maturity."(However, this may be an exaggeration. Sturgeon did rewrite the second half of "Maturity" several years later, to make it more, well, more mature. The first version, as Clifford Simak pointed out to him, had a stellar start but slid into mundanity.)Stop reading this review and go read that collection. Especially "Maturity," "Thunder and Roses," "Tiny and the Monster."... Still here?! Ah well. Suit yourselves.Or help yourselves to these bites, cooked as I read:~ "Maturity" is the story where Theodore Sturgeon came of age.I can't quite speak about it. It feels as I would be, as its protagonist Robin says, wasting wind.Instead, consider how he handles the feelings of two people dear to him and hateful to each other:“(...) Why do you hate each other?”Warfield sucked in his breath and looked at Peg. Peg looked at her feet.“I have been my own damnation,” said Robin, “like most damned souls. There isn’t a thing you could have done to prevent it. Mel once made an honest mistake, and it wasn’t even a serious one. Peg, you have no right to assume that it was made through a single motive, and that a base one. Nature never shows one motive or one law at a time, unaffected by any other. And Mel—to hate Peg because of the things she has felt is like hating a man for moving when a tornado has taken him away.”Simple as that.(But ... how often do we let ourselves speak up on the matters of the heart? How often do we reach this stage of clarity, to find the right words?)And then ... the ending. Which I won't spoil for you. But it resonates--and a part of me wants to cry, "terribly!"--with my own reflections on never having enough.I've never said I'm a mature human being, have I?~ A glimpse into the mind of an anthologist:I want to anthologize "Tiny and the Monster," because it has one of the loveliest canine protagonists ever--my partner will adore Tiny; and one of the most fascinating, to quote the author, "secondary characters taking over the story" (listen); and a great concept; and a great leading couple who refuse to be seen as one--which only makes them greater.I cringe at the thought of anthologizing "Tiny and the Monster" because it's full of technical jargon; and local dialect--in fact, two local dialects, if I counted correctly; and I couldn't make much of either; and I shiver to think what other translators will make. As it is, we've had enough trouble with Robert F. Young's "To Fell a Tree" for our „Зелени разкази (ама _наистина_)“ ....... Do you guys still dream of becoming anthologists? ;)~ I've read "Thunder and Roses" at least three times, and it's still as throat-clutching. Along with "Maturity," it wrenched my tears out: those tears that have been so hard to release over the years.Perhaps the most astonishing part about it is that its message is so simple. What would any sane beings do knowing that they're dying, and it is on their hands to decide whether everyone else dies too?That it still grips my throat and tears is a testimony to the persistence of this question. Have we grown up to be sane? What if someone kills us now? Do we kill back?Future, future, what is it you carry on your shoulders? Behind the thunder, among the roses? ~ "Hurricane Trio" made me look for Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril (and wonder about the hurricanes inside Sturgeon's own soul). I found the first third of the book online (yay, Google Books!), and it was powerful and honest, and amazed me how much artistry writers actually put into their letters.But I'd rather go on with the stories here. ;)~ I've already read "There Is No Defense" at least once; the "convincing" of Hereford to choose the path of action pissed me off then, and still does. I'm coming to believe that we Westerners really don't understand Gandhi's satyagraha or what ahimsa is about in general. (Yes, I too have had the impulse to bunch my own fists or even punch whoever was attacking me. It's made me feel all the more miserable afterwards.)Perhaps the deepest exploration of how non-violence could go differently is embodied in Danlo wi Soli Ringess, the protagonist of David Zindell's Requiem for Homo Sapiens. In essence, Danlo is an ambassador of peace in a galaxy on the verge of war; a devoted, evolving adherent of pacifism. However, even there, the ending comes with a caveat: something happens which breaks--a lot of things. The logic of the story, the MC's characterization, this reader's heart (and a bit of his mind) ....So, can we understand ahimsa? To what extent?
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