Latro in the Mist, by Gene Wolfe: ***3/8

Latro... is yet another unique creation by my favorite author of speculative fiction. Reading this book (a combination of two books initially released separately as Soldier of the Mist, and Soldier of Arete), my third by Wolfe, I have realized more clearly what things I love about his work. While I read Book of the New Sun, I marveled at the character, the scenes, and the writing. I knew that the presentation of the narrative was unique and different, but I didn't completely understand its subtleties. I enjoyed the presentation of the story, but I wasn't totally aware of the ways in which Wolfe used the narrative itself to add further dimensions to the book. I know that whenever I re-read BOTNS, it will be with a closer eye on this aspect of the story, but part of Wolfe's brilliance lies in his ability to present so many different angles so interestingly that his works can be enjoyed from a number of different perspectives or combinations. You don't have to understand everything to enjoy it.

His interest in narrative was equally evident in Peace, the next Wolfe I undertook, and the book through which I became more completely aware of the genius in Wolfe's narrative, a genius masterfully present in Latro.... Latro is a character in ancient Greece (circa 400 BC), who can't remember his actions from day to day (we learn this on the first page of the book). Wolfe presents Latro to us in the "foreword", which is really part of the novel, by explaining something about how these ancient scrolls were discovered and how Wolfe has translated them. Of course, right there, Wolfe is presenting the first layer of distortion, the first window through which this information supposedly passed before reaching our eyes - the whole book is supposedly a translation from archaic Latin, and the original text is explained to be without punctuation, and minus a lot of detail, which Wolfe then furnishes for us in his translation. The next level of distortion comes from information supplied by Latro, who because he can't remember from day to day has no context in which to place his thoughts. He reports what happens each day, but only as he remembers to do so; sometimes, actions are missing, because Latro doesn't remember to write it down and doesn't remember it when next he writes. Other times, information we receive may be inaccurate or misleading because Latro's understanding of a situation will be different than ours, since we have the benefit of remembering what has previously happened. Of course, Latro's confusion begets our confusion at times as well, but that's the whole game.

The story is fascinating all by itself, but this process of understanding, the uncertainty surrounding the reading experience, and then the joy of understanding something at a later time, was magnificent. It is this unique manner of revelation that seems particularly Wolfeian, because the prose is a bit different than the prose in both Peace and BOTNS. All three books are first-person narratives (for the most part, though there is also the element of the translation and a couple of other things I won't explain), but because the characters are distinctly different people, their writing styles are very different. The Wolfeian connection then in is in the manner of learning rather than style of prose. In this sense, it is Wolfe's ability to use a slightly skewed narrative to create something much greater than the simple story taking place. Of course the story would be interesting if presented more traditionally, but this manner of unfolding makes it so much more interesting. After finishing the book, I checked out some commentary online, as is my wont, and discovered that apparently the whole book mirrored actual events that took place in ancient Greece as related in history books, specifically the writings of Herodotus. I'm not sure how many people are familiar with Herodotus, but I'm not. Apparently a lot of the readers of this book are, though, because these people kept talking about how it helps to have an understanding of the writings of Herodotus in order to follow this book. Well, as someone who does not know Herodotus, I can say that it is not necessary to know the history of ancient Greece to have a great experience with this book. On the contrary, I felt like I got to live as Latro, in a way, by NOT know what was going on. As he went from place to place, he had no idea what was happening because of his lack of memory. While I remembered something of his previous adventures (I say 'something' because it's not always easy to remember all the details of this long adventure, especially since the narrator doesn't always provide the kinds of clues you'd expect to get from someone with a better memory), I didn't fully understand the dealings between the various people he met until the information began to accumulate. It was precisely this development of understanding that I enjoyed so much. I don't know what it would have been like if I'd already known about ancient Greece, but I certainly don't have the opinion that it would have been better. But it might be fun to reread this book if I ever do get caught up on the Ancient Greek classics.

In all, I found Latro's world exciting and him only one of many engaging characters in the tale. There are so many interesting people, but again it's the way in which these people are revealed - through Latro's ever-changing lens - that makes them so fascinating and multi-dimensional. This book is both a magnificent achievement and joy to read. The prose doesn't sparkle in quite the way that it does in Wolfe's other books, because it's presented as the writing of a simple mercenary. In that respect, Latro... is not quite as joyous to read as his other stuff (though still joyous) because the sentences are drier, more straightforward. The process of understanding instead moves to the fore of this novel, and that's fine with me. As a result, not every line is quoteworthy, as with other Wolfes, and so I am abandoning my normal Wolfe-quotes-section behavior of listing both a random quote and the opening paragraph. But there are still plenty of good quotes throughout the book:
pg. 38: "Now came the sun, striking diamonds from the opalescent crest of each little wave."

pg. 42: "Little heads are like little cups, soon so full they can hold no more." (referring to telling stories to a little girl.)

pg. 554: "My cast was lucky,.. but I was close when I made it, which is ever the mother of good luck." (referring to throwing a javelin at a boar)

pg. 557: "He has drunk of the waters of forgetting, the last merciful gift of the kindly gods that spares the dead so much care."

pg. 612: "A man's life is indeed short, ending in death. If it were long, his days would be of small value. If there were no death, of none."

pg. 614: "When one understands nothing yet must speak, it is best to question."
(spring 2003)

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