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/lit/ - Literature

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3412476 No.3412476 [Reply] [Original]

Has anyone read The World Inside by Robert Silverburg? I finished it, late last night, and I feel very strange about it. It's left me feeling guilty. The people depicted are so strange. The characters who do stand out are very tragic. Some of their fates hit me very hard. So, what did you think of it? Reactions, specifically?

>> No.3412529

Well, bump. I'm very interested in what people might have to say about this if people have read it.

>> No.3414304

>>3412476
Sounds cool as fawk but I haven't read it, it's going right next after I finish this one.
I'll take this as a recommendation.

>> No.3414390

It's being developed as an HBO series so it's probably trash.

>> No.3414397

sounds neat OP. The sad truth is /lit/ is completely clueless when it comes to science fiction

>> No.3414401

>>3414390
That might be good. Like a very well produced sci-fi channel original.

>> No.3414477

>>3414304
Definitely take this as a recommendation. It's a book from the 70s about over-consumption - but reading it in 2012/2013 brings us a very, very different view.

>> No.3414504

>>3412476
I read it

It was so
FUCKING
GOOOD
Holy shit

I'll love that book til the day I die.

>> No.3414526

Sounds neat OP but I haven't read it. Who would you compare his style to? SF can be sort of hit and miss for me.

>> No.3414657

I thought I remembered reading a Silverberg story I enjoyed once but after checking it was a Damon Knight story in a Silverberg edited anthology.

The story was "Four in One". J-dawg out.

>> No.3414969

>>3412476
Read it in the 70s, enjoyed it then, wouldn't mind re-reading.

>> No.3415029

Oh man I think this is the book my dad was telling me about! He died and I didn't know the name of the book, but now I can read it!

>> No.3415032

Honestly, I'm interested in these novels based on the covers alone.

>> No.3415050

Holy shit, this book sounds fucking awesome. Will read.

>> No.3415189

>>3414526
It's hard to compare his style to another, as the subject matter deals with common ideas tackled in very unusual ways. Hmm. His prose is well put together, and varied. Very beautiful at times, and stifling (in a good way) at others. The character development is sporadic, and it's hard to become attached to them, no matter what we see in them. They are just so...different. And it even comments on that, that we in this century are much different from their urbmon way of life - that is, living vertically, with 999 floors of people, and absolutely free sex (takes a big part in the novel).

>> No.3415193

>>3415029
OP here - get this, my father lent me to this recently. Called it one of his favorite novels.

>> No.3415200

>>3415029
>>3415193
>tfw will never bond with father over books since he doesn't read

I'll read it anyway since it sounds good

>> No.3415205

>>3415200
Kinda like Pa from Grapes of Wrath. Avell, definitely read it. Post about it when you're done - I'm wondering if people felt guilty for some reason after finishing it . . .

>> No.3416397

Just skipped class to finish this. Tragic is really the best word for it: its world isn't quite hideous enough to be dystopic and yet everything in it is transient, aggressively worthless, and meager. It feels insanely prescient given that it was written in the 70s, despite the fact that it's really no more like our world than BNW or 1984. I'd definitely recommend but man is it ever harsh.

>> No.3418543

>>3416397
I really, really could not describe the feelings that arose afterwards better. I truly wonder what these authors, who have either foretold or warned (however you put it), had going through their heads whilst writing these novels.

>> No.3418618

Funny -- I just bought/read this last month (I have the hardcover version of the one on the lefthand side.)

The fact that it was written in the present tense threw me off at the outset, but you get used to that pretty quickly. I was also amused by the constant sex scenes -- I know, 70's sci-fi and all, but all things considered the sheer volume of sex in the book is pretty striking. You also get the feeling that the author, like a few of his contemporaries, thought the hippie mentality was going to continue expanding until it altered modern culture entirely and nobody would care about anything but sex, drugs and rock music.

I find science fiction tends to age best when it focuses on the human reactions to whatever event/setting drives the plot, rather than the author's personal forecast for the technological advancements of the distant future. I felt this book did excellently in this regard; the environment was relatively well thought-out and very vividly described, and by covering the lives of a cast of characters (rather than just a single protagonist) the story painted a better picture of their society overall.

I wish there'd been more detail about how the world got to the state it was in, specifically with regard to the notion that birth control of any sort was evil. I know the historian character went into some detail but it seems like such a reverse of the contemporary attitude I thought it needed more explanation. His attempts to understand pre-1970's real-world morality were pretty interesting too.

If OP's still around -- whose fate bothered you the most, Siegmund or Michael?

>> No.3418727

>>3418618
When Michael was thrown to the chutes, I was a bit shaken, and it did feel as if my soul was reaching out to him. Amplified especially by how it was right after learning more of the commune's way of life, and his experience with it. Both society's...so cavalier with life, it seems. However, Siegmund...he was a built character, and he was easily relatable when we would see his life up close. His sudden confusion at the world mirrored my own - and his fate was affected by this bias. I was shocked (appalled), surprised and guiltily proud of his decision in the very end.

A question for you, since you are considering the "why" of things: what aspect of the commune life was most interesting to you, and what aspect of the urbmon life was most interesting to you?

>> No.3418799

>>3414390

THINGS THAT PEOPLE LIKE ARE BAAAADDDDD

>> No.3418805

"Dying Inside" by this author is one of my all time favorites. Read that, and I'll read this.

>> No.3418842

>>3418727
Hmm -- I liked Siegmund, and even if his choice at the end seemed almost inevitable I still felt it to be a bit of a downer. But at least it was realistic -- I can't tolerate dystopia fiction that ends with the hero magically dismantling the system through some deus-ex-machina.

With the kind of gross overpopulation they had, could they be anything but cavalier about it? I thought the hurried 'chuting of dissidents made a lot of sense in context; overabundance cheapens the value of life.

I thought the commune's attitude toward the urbmons was interesting. I've read a couple sci-fi books that suggest divergent paths of evolution between blue-collar and white-collar laborers and I got the feeling that the commune-dwellers and the urbmon-dwellers were headed that way. The commune's tribal religion was curious too. But as for the monads' society...the way that modern-day morality (monogamy, population control, etc) seemed not just laughable but offensive/unthinkable to them was, I thought, a rather important point. I also liked how Silverberg questioned whether societal influence was enough to remove things like jealousy from human nature, though I think humans are really much more plastic than we like to believe.

Did this remind you at all of Brave New World? It did for me -- the communes, the free love and drugs, and especially Siegmund's character at the end.

>> No.3418858

>>3412476
It's my favorite by Silverberg. If you enjoyed it I recommend picking up some of his other novels.

>> No.3418906

>>3418842
Yes, I agree with your first point - early in dystopian novels, I urge the characters to take actions that could possibly fix what I see wrong in their usually twisted worlds. Then, as with this novel, I felt like it obviously could not happen. Ha! I realized that once we were introduced to so many characters. When Michael attempted to convince the police that he was sane, and then subsequently realizing his fate and trying his hardest to tell them of the beautiful outdoors, I knew that these people were truly unchangeable.

It is such an interesting topic that I have not truly heard of before - the idea of divergent paths of evolution, right under our noses! I've always believed that we as a species have been changing - but I viewed that as only our culture, and the way we pass our views on to our offspring. On the subject of simple societal influence being a moving force of our nature, I agree that humankind is a bit "plastic". I believe it is due to our group-mind tendencies - mob theory. It takes one to poison the well - and then it's all of us who are poisoned. Please recommend me any novels that explore this concept!

The World Inside reminded me of Brave New World in its core theme, and sometimes the prose of TWI was very descriptive - almost poetic - like BNW. But, yes, in the end, Siegmund's total change in character, leading to his decision, reminded me of John's strong attempt of redemption - of reprisal - for only himself leading to the obvious perverted actions of his peers. And, of course, his death.