So, I was having trouble with THE EINSTEIN INTERSECTION by Samuel R. Delany, so I decided to tackle something else of his as sort of a warm-up. I settled on BABEL-17, and I have to say I'm now about half-way through it and the story is fabulous. Except, I think I'm getting so much less out of it than is intended. The story is about a poet and ex-cryptographer trying to translate a formerly unknown language (this is a vast over-simplification) and the basic story is, as I said, tremendous, as are the characters. The problem is I am getting hints of so much going on under the story, commentary on language, the nature of communication, the power of words to shape ideas, and through the ability to express ideas to shape reality. It's powerful stuff. And I'm barely following the very surface of it, and even that is only due to my sociolinguistics class. I knew I'd appreciate that course, but I had no idea it would become so directly relevant.

Part of the problem is that Delany is obviously a genius. He easily deals with concepts that in thirteen weeks of class I barely fathomed. And, the man is as much a poet as his protagonist. His word choices are rich, multi-layered, poetical and philosophical. I can greatly admire the skill that takes.

And yet, I don't think I will be reading much more of his work. It makes me feel stupid. Beyond that, and perhaps this is blasphemy as a science fiction writer, but I think his ability to play with words, to explore metafiction, while impressive and awe-inspiring, for me, gets in the way of the story. I want to experience the tale and find the lessons in it. Not read the lessons and find the story. I have no idea if that makes any sense, but hey, I'm entitled to an opinion. And regardless of my personal reaction I cannot deny the man is briliant. I mean wow!

In far, far less interesting areas, my new story is up to 215 words. Okay, I know that's pathetic really, but it's more than I have gotten in the last few weeks prior. And more is developing. Slowly. Paragraph by painful paragraph.

Well, I'm going back to the writing now. Or making cookies. Whichever grabs me first.