Hatrack River Forum: The Worthing Saga

This is topic The Worthing Saga in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.

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Posted by Goldenstar (Member # 6990) on :

Has anyone read this or am i the only one? it kindof confused me so i'll probably be re-reading it soon. Anyone else opinions on it

Posted by Marek (Member # 5404) on :

I've read it, and loved it, it is one of my favorite books. Some of the things at the very end got confuseing. Namely about Elijah, and his sons, and brother, and wife, and worthing Inn.

Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :

The best explanation/illustration of why free agency/will (and all its negative consequences) is essential I've ever read.

Posted by Zalmoxis (Member # 2327) on :

I agree.

Posted by Cashew (Member # 6023) on :

It's what I love about Card. He has an insightful understanding of the realities of key doctrines and their applications that amazes me. I even have a couple of quotes from his books written on bits of paper which I keep tucked inside my scriptures. One from the Worthing Saga, one from Wyrms, and one from The Memory of Earth.

Posted by PSI Teleport (Member # 5545) on :

I was also pretty confused with Elijah's family. I'm guessing it's because one story is told from the POV of the main character and the other is passed down through memories.

Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :

Beautiful book. Beautiful. It was where I first learned of Card's knack for completely screwing with one's emotions. And the lesson about the Day of Pain . . . beautiful! One of my favorite books ever.

Posted by Marek (Member # 5404) on :

quote:
I was also pretty confused with Elijah's family. I'm guessing it's because one story is told from the POV of the main character and the other is passed down through memories.

Yes, but his brother and nephew had different names entirely, as did his wife, and children, and in one telling his wife died on Worthing Farm, in the other she lives much longer. Also Peter (the brother of one Elijah) has no powers, but Matthew (the brother of Elijah in the other tale) has powers that are unequalled until he himself has children.

You may be right about the explanation, but it still confused me, and there were other things i wondered about too, but i'll skip them for now. [Razz]

Posted by Boris (Member # 6935) on :

Worthing Saga is among my all-time favorite books. To me, it seems to answer the question, "Why does God allow people to suffer?". The trick with the book, though, Goldenstar, is that it's more or less a compilation of Card's short stories. I'm not completely sure how many of the stories come from his short stories, I know "Tinker" was his first submission to Analog back in the day. But basically only the connection writing (The stuff about the kid writing the book) really follows a distinct plot line. You could potentially read just that stuff and get something out of it. But understand that some of the stories may not connect well, and that the confusion with the names comes in great part because the stories were written at different times, and weren't really meant to be connected together.

Posted by vwiggin (Member # 926) on :

quote:
To me, it seems to answer the question, "Why does God allow people to suffer?"

My thoughts exactly. [Smile]

Compared to the Worthing Saga, Asimov's Foundation series seems trite and juvenile.

Posted by Joldo (Member # 6991) on :

I bought Hot Sleep off of Amazon used. It's very good to read before Worthign Saga.

Posted by blacwolve (Member # 2972) on :

What surprised me when I read Hot Sleep was that it was a very good book. If Worthing Saga had never been written I could have read it and enjoyed it greatly. However, it doesn't have that absolutely bowled over emotion that Worthing Saga carries throughout it.

Does that make any sense at all?

Posted by Amanecer (Member # 4068) on :

*Adds voice to chorus* I abosolutely loved the Worthing Saga. In OSC books, it goes right under Ender's Game for me. What I love most about it is that it is a compilation of short stories that connect. Card created a whole universe, but instead of explicitly telling the story of the universe, he told pieces of certain people's lives throughout time. Individually, they were each beautiful stories. Combined, they created a completely seperate, equally beautiful story. Absolutely wonderful!