La Garra del Conciliador

“The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.”

This second portion of The Book of the New Sun is every bit as rife with outstanding prose, intriguing worldbuilding (equally beguiling– an ever-expanding puzzle with pieces doled in deliberately meager fashion) and a journey for our protagonist as lively and engaging as that in the first volume. Interactions between Severian and a multitude of characters aid in layering each of them within this deteriorating world and, by book's end, finds one relationship in particular closing in forlorn fashion indeed. The immemorial complexity of male/female romantic relationships is shown through several facets by way of our imperfect protagonist and his equally flawed compatriots. Wolfe paints desires within a particular character by showing us their nature through action– the varied feelings Severian has for the female characters every bit as wrought with theatrics as his relationships with the masculine gender. That a level of curiosity for, circumspection of and interest in complex/flawed characters cannot seem to override certain “current day” sensitivities of a great many readers shows a tremendous flaw in western society when so many are now apparently unable to parse reality from fantasy, ideology from philosophy. The portion of this novel which pertains to the relationship between Severian and Jolenta is one of its most tragic elements of and shows us not merely tremendous flaws in both characters (Severian his spontaneous lusts, Jolenta her willingness to sell her soul for a false body which breeds self-absorption and romantic emptiness) while also pointing to those laudable aspects of their character which shine through the cracks of the grim, cold world around them (Severian his capacity for love and care, Jolenta her bent towards loyalty and companionship). That the nuance of this and other relationships within Wolfe's writing is so entirely lost on a great many reviewers is a testament to not merely lack of critical thinking ability but sympathy for nuance and patience with character development– analysis once widely encouraged, now abdicated in favor of lazy ideological reflexes and personal political imprinting so liberally misapplied, stupefyingly unwarranted.

The Claw of the Conciliator is an excellent read and one which, as with the first volume, I eagerly anticipate revisiting in years to come where I might further decipher Wolfe's masterfully constructed narrative.