First, I want to point you to an interview (yes, another one!) with Drew Bittner over at SFRevu for your perusal. There is also a glowing review at selfsame site also written by Mister Bittner, (WARNING: this is a little spoilery, so, if you have NOT read Factotum head over there at you own peril.)
Now, the following was caused by but has only some connection with the comments previous about art being work or reaction. On I go...
Dare I admit I actually have very little truck for the whole post-modern, "It's all the the eye of the beholder/ reader interpretation is supreme" thing.
Reader reaction/participation is vital: I write very much to create a particular set of reactions in you all - of brand new vistas, of wonder, of adventure on an adult scale, of (I hope and strive) some small portion of the life-changing wonder I had when first reading LotR as a 12 year old.
As an illustrator it always struck me that the intent of the creator and the reaction they are looking to provoke was/is the primary point. Heck, half the time I was just filling the requirements of a brief, but then would have folks insisting to me all these wondrous "artistic" notions in my work that I never meant, nor knowingly put in.
The counter to this is, obviously, the "Freudian" one, that I could not help put deeper elements into my work. While this may be - and is probably - true, the alchemy of my "stuff" with theirs seems to also bring about an element of fiction within my viewers reaction too, an attributing to me things not necessarily so. Yet who am I to deny such response?! Without the reader/viewer what is the point? What is MBT without your participation? A bunch of ideas rolling about my head. For years I tried to show people H-c stuff, to which the common response was bemusement or boredom. Though i might have been making stuff up for the fun of it - for myself - I was clearly looking for an audience, for participation, reaction, validation.
So I suppose we find ourselves with a synthesis. Creations are made to be participated in, reader/viewer response is vital (unavoidable, indeed, sought after!), yet the creator's intent surely has a place, surely what I wanted to make deserves some respect, some consideration?
Oftentimes I have not (and I quote from Amazon):
"that was the worst book i have ever read. dm cornish is a hack. never read this book. " (the author's punctuation/capitalisation)
OR
"Someone please tell me how anyone (ANYONE!) can get past the truly awful title. And after you achieve that monumental goal, how can you navigate the vinegar seas and bleeble blabble names that are intended to justify this as a truly unique creation and world? I, for one, couldn't manage the feat."
So who is right here?
The post-modern response would go something along the lines of, "well, for these readers that is what MBT is..." i.e. rubbish. But IS MBT rubbish just because they say it is. Again, p-m thought will assert that for these too folk it is. Indeed, my stories are not perfect (despite the flarings of my ego insisting otherwise) and I can understand how they might not be everyone's cup o' tea, but surely my intent in penning rates some contemplation and even merit from even the harshest critic?
So who is right?
There seems to me to be another factor at play here, one very hard to fix down, even dangerous to do so: the notion of something having merit in and of itself regardless of opinion. Yet what/who(!) arbitrates such a reckoning? Are not humans the deciders of such things? Yet - for example - as we see with the Amazon quotes, there are those who revile MBT, though many of you here think it worthy. Who is correct? Is it the majority voice? Is it that if we get enough saying it is "good" then it is, and the few who did/do not like it are free to their opinion? In a way this works, but what if the majority say that something bad is good, as in the citizens of the Haacobin empire holding all monsters as bad? There are only a few who dare to acknowledge otherwise, yet we find that the majority are not in line with what is actually the case, but the minority.
So what happens then?
Our majority model has collapsed.
Who arbitrates what is so here?
The issue maybe, in the end, is that we in this age of pluralism, dare not say another's sentiment or notion is wrong for genuine fear that we ourselves might be subject to such a charge; that in some close held idea, we too might be wrong, and this is intolerable (I sure don't like holding the thought for too long!). So rather than let this dread event occur we say instead everyone is right, formulate theories to maintain the same, and remain in our cocoon of "rightness"...
There seems to me something going on here that is beyond neat theories.
My word I bake my own noodle sometimes... :\
(I have probably made no sense at all... ACK!)
35 comments:
I'm not even finished reading the interview yet, but as soon as you mentioned Elektra: Assassin as an influence I had to come here and flail at you a bit. I'm not sure if we fantasy authors influenced by early Frank Miller comics should form a fan club or a support group -- but I do feel confident that your Europe, my Knife and Miller's Elektra would cause a great deal of deadly havoc together. This thought amuses me.
My reality in the actual world is based on very complex groups of constructions in my own mind, developed and modified over the years from interaction with the actual world.
My understanding may be similar to others, but not one other in the world can postulate as my mind does, it's all mine, my world.
So when I say something is good, noone can truely say I am wrong. It is right for this one consciousness.
Mr Cornish, you know without a doubt that your work is grand, I am sure you do. But you are most fortunate that there are many other minds in the world that get just as tickled (mine for one).
Your detailed wordsmanship, supported by your illustrations, certainly aids in having us all see what you want us to see and leaves less room than other art forms for local interpretation. Obviously many others love that rich world layed out for them to gasp in awe.
How it was possible to have a common response of bemusement and boredom regarding your H-C works, astounds me. Surely there must have been many that implored you to collate your notes into story form to share.
As for the two examples of "review", how could you take then seriously. No matter how you like a story, should anyone ever recommend to "never read this book". And, anyone (ANYONE!)that gets hung up on a title and cannot grasp the complexity of a new world, is not someone you are writing for anyway.
Know this, you are greatly respected for the works you have created, long may you continue. As a separate issue, know you are most respected for your intent, the efforts you have put in, that led to the achievement.
I'm feeling a bit philosophical today, so I will throw my 2 cents in the questing for Absolute Truth.
In Intro to Psychology our professor told us that when doing research, when talking to people all anyone could ever give you was their perception. And two people's perceptions might not agree completely or even mostly. 2 or more people who witness the same event at the same time can view it very differently. (I will not say completely different, because while there is considerable variation throughout the human species we do share more similarities with our species than with other animals.) This I shall call Personal Truth, although I'm sure some philosopher somewhere has a proper name for it. However, humans are herd animals and extremely social; indeed, no other animal can stand to live in such large groups of non-related individuals (cities, that is) as we can. But that tolerance comes at the price of Personal Truth, because there have to be things we all generally agree on in order to reduce conflict and allow peaceful (or relatively peaceful) coexistence (example: most people would probably agree that murder is bad, even if we can't all agree what exactly constitutes murder). These agreed upon truths become laws and norms which can become "Absolute Truth" in the eyes of the people who agree upon them (and makes it interesting when they encounter people who do not share all of the same truths).
I would also point out the difficulty of definitions. What is "good" and "bad" when it comes to writing? What makes good or bad writing? Goodness knows, there are a plethora of books dedicated to the subject, many of them with contradictory advice, I'm sure. Eh, Hemingway is generally lauded as a brilliant writer, and while I can appreciate the structure and techniques that have his work being taught in classrooms I find his work to be boring and unmoving. Does that mean a decry him as a terrible writer? No, I just don't pick up his books.
I have to say I am rather glad to read your point about how the author intends to influence the thoughts/feelings/etc of his/her readers. All writing is persuasive writing, even if all you are trying to persuade your writers to do is to feel sad.
As for how this would apply to writing...well, I would put it down to a matter of taste. Perhaps the H-C just wasn't those reviewers' cup of tea. Does that make your books and writing "bad"? No, just not to their taste, though they didn't have to be quite so rude in stating their preference.
Gagh, that was long and rambling, I hope I made some sense. o_0
Dear Mr Cornish,
I say write from your heart and if people like it, so be it. Ignore the naysayers. I just read the other day an article by a journalist who moved from print to internet and found that her detractors went from perhaps .01% of readers and feedback was very slow, to much more like 30% and very quick, because everyone can comment immediately over the net now. It's just much easier to be a naysayer these days...
Hopefully this link is of some encouragement in a tangential way;
http://vimeo.com/15412319
Mike P.
It's true, the internet is often a quagmire of negativity fostered by the same anonymity that gives others of us so much freedom. I agree with scarylady above, whether or not MBT was to these reviewers taste, their comments were rude, poorly written, and entirely unhelpful as actual reviews. While it's great that anybody can have a voice on the internet, too often all people have to say is either "OMG this is the best ever!!!1!" or "this is fail."
Eh...all I can say is that some folks get it, some folks don't.
For the most part I don't enjoy novels pigeon-holed as fantasy or sci-fi, but I really enjoy MBT (as does my wife - who is enjoying her second round of Factotum).
So there.
I thoroughly enjoy MBT. I love MBT.
But, it's a book that requires the reader to be literate in more than just internet slang.
i dnt thnk ppl no books rnt ritten liek dis loljks.
Anyway, If you couldn't make it pass the title and even finish the first book, what on earth makes you think you can review it?
It's quite silly.
I read in your spiel an echo of my own sentiments and fears. Which may sound presumptuous, but I too have a fairly extensive fantasy world that when shown to others--very sparingly--receives the same bemusement and boredom. I think that a measure of success changes this, but I have no experience with that since I have yet to publish anything at all about my world. My guess, however, is that once someone believes it is worthy enough to print, then many of those bemused individuals that have any taste for fantasy will give it a chance and many will enjoy it.
To say, though, that there is a black and white 'right or wrong' about your work (or any work) is a little bit incorrect. While many might label anything with contradictory opinions as 'everyone is right', I think it would be more accurate to say that everyone is different. A large number of individuals love rap or country music, and for the life of me I can't understand why, but that doesn't mean it's wrong. To them it's right, to me it's grating. It's easy to question the products of your creativity when those who don't like it are so vocal. I've noticed that a great majority of individuals who decide they don't like, or outright hate, something, are quick to use harsh language, while those who really enjoy it don't always have the means to express the depths to which a work has touched them. It's funny to say, but the angry are often more eloquent.
Also, perhaps to further dispel your anxiety about perceptions of good or bad fiction, perhaps you should read this review of Tolkien's 'Fellowship' on Amazon (Along with 44 others on just this one piece):
"Just wanted to vent a bit on Tolkien's "masterpiece". Oy. Why does everybody love this stuff so much? I don't get it. I didn't read it when I was in puberty, so maybe I missed some nostalgic connection to it. The plot is:
* Ring bad, if evil guy gets, enslaves world
* Good guys must destroy ring
* Travel
* Fight bad guys
* Travel
* Fight bad guys
* Travel
* Fight bad guys
* ...
* Throw ring in lava
The text is almost totally lacking in humor. The few female characters in the book seem like adolescent fantasies. And I got completely bored and lost keeping track of this needlessly-intricate world of places and names - "Borodor Gorofarp set forth through the hills of Borax to the west of which the Isle of Greepdorf and the dwarven village of Potstunk lay, which the rangers call Harmabon, known to ancient elves as Yakayaka, a village which we will not be concerned with at all henceforth."
Get out your maps and your klingon dictionary, let's look all this up..."
People are different, dear Cornish.
Quite well-put, everyone.
As to my own thoughts, I quote 'perception is reality'. Whatever the readers or viewers of anything think on it, that is their reality, whether others would like to change it or not. We can take steps to institute just such change, but only they can make the choice to allow that shift in their views.Saying something is good or bad, you have to remember,only sums up your own thoughts on the subject. Even if you're always right, it doesn't mean everyone else agrees.
But as for encouragement, I'll take you beyond other human-written books, human-made things. Take a look at Christianity. There are some, a majority of the world's populace, sadly, who think it is a load of rubbish. Does that mean it is?
Certainly not, so don't fear for the validity of your own works, your own thoughts, your own beliefs.They are right to you, and always will be your reality. And our reality belongs to us, and no one else.
Opinion does not equal truth.
For example, I cannot stand Horseradish/Harry Potter/Really Bad Puns, but by no means does that mean that they are not in their way marvelous and laudable things.
Conversely, I adore several things I shall not name that [sadly] are about as high-quality as soggy wonderbread.
People do not think of things in terms of truth, ever: everything, even when we try very hard and convince ourselves that we are being objective, is drowned in our opinions and FEEEEEELINGS. If someone cares enough about something one way or the other to discuss/review it, they are going to...uh, care about it.
So, rather than try to squint at all the little miniature facets of everyone's opinion and try to find reality, my humble suggestion is to just go right on with what you're doing.
What can I say. People are dumb.
*I* love your world and stories, anyway.
I'm glad that others have commented with intelligent thought-out responses because I can manage nothing more than baffled, angry, and incoherent sentence fragments... "Did they really...but how...who...what kind of...why??" When faced with an opinion that is so violently, unexpectedly, and obviously wrong, I tend to shut down mentally like this. But honestly, where to start? Is it even worth it? I have to admit that there is nothing I can do to make these people see the error of their ways, and so it is best to let it go and let them continue to exist in their wrongness.
In happier news, it won't be long now until my copy of Factotum arrives in the mail! :) Amazon lied to me and it is arriving a day later than it was supposed to, which upsets me more than it should...I'm not sure I can wait that extra day.
You can´t please everyone, it´s impossible. I don´t think any one of us that writes here has the same taste in books (for example I HATE LotR) or other interest´s.
Be assured Master Cornish, you ARE a good write.
As for your last book, I got it today and I´ve read it. Or rather I devoured it like a cookie-monster in a pastry-shop. It was a thrilling story. But the end made me a little sad. Not to fear, I can live with the end (Grrr Meredith Ann Pierce, grrr).
i only wonder if they ever met again.
i also want to thank you for putting my name in the book. That made my day, in an otherwise bad week.
Many times I have been led down the road of frustration, anger, bemusement, sadness even, due to the ever increasing need for people to have their voice heard without the careful thought that could truely make that voice interesting and worthy of great notice.
Me thinks debating should be taught in every school from a young age.
Wouldn't the world be so more pleasent to endure if we all not only considered, but also valued and accepted each others position.
It definitely seems that with the progresive growth of our internet age, these problems have grown exponentially, it is all too easy to quickly pen a word or two, without considering their consequences. Words are powerful for good, bad and everything else in between.
Thinking on Rygle's internet comments:
There is a flip side of putting yourself out to a wider world and possibly receiving considerable negative comments. 20% negative of 50 million people still means 40 million people might be enjoying you work. So when you do come across something worthy, spread the word. Few can I tell by word of mouth, of the talent of D. M. Cornish (and others). By various means of the net....many more.
For Brandy: Very few people have the ability to create a complex fictional world. When given a suitable window with which to view your world, I am sure many will love it, there are over six billion on this globe, the odd one or two hundred million are sure to be fans. Go for it big time, work on your craft, perfect that window and hopefully one day we will be enjoying your words.
I did have a rather lengthy response but revised it to simply say no matter what bad thing someone says about a subject, another has just said the exact opposite. Neither affect the subject itself. Opinions do influence others, but only the ignorant will take that influence as it comes and fail to investigate by their own means.
I say it's all well and good to have and discuss opinions, but to rely on the opinions of others is entirely stupid.
And also - I shoved factotum in every nearby person's face after reading the acknowledgements. My squeal of glee was never ending. My new conversation starter is "I'm in a book" (yes it's onyl my initials but still...).
I'd say something more intelligent but... Too much Joy. Oh if only I hadn't put all my work under a pseudonym - I would show you. If/When anything is published I'll be most intent at acknowledging you for your acknowledging of me and all the other contributors of this Blog and Facebook Cult and so on. An author who gets this far into commune with his readers is unlike any other.
To me only one opinion matter's, and that's mine of you. Since that interview I watched of you promoting Foundling I've always respected a person of artistry pursuing the means to realise their ideas to the world in a fully tangible brick of text. I thought it'd be impossible for me but hey - I write like a mad cow now. I know it's only been three years since then but I'm damn glad I had that mentor-ish experience while still in my teens.
Factotum was splendidly done and I'm sad to call it the final of the foundling's tale :( But am looking forward to what other wonderful tales might be presented to us from the H-C (btw, when is that site ever going to be updated with delicious... stuff?!).
R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
Oh, yes, and I bought Factotum last night and started reading and EEEEEEE MY NAAAAAAME!
The bookstore people were not amused. :)
You're the best.
I have finally received Factotum in the mail...I've been frantically reading for most of the afternoon and am about halfway through...I'm torn between wanting to finish it all in one frenzied session, or staggering it over the next few days so that it will last longer.
It saddens me to think that this will be it, for a while anyway, and though we will hopefully return to the Half-Continent in the future, my time with Rossamünd and Europe are coming to an end.
Mr. Cornish, your books have been an inspiration and an encouragement to me over the years since I first discovered them, both as an aspiring author/illustrator and also as a Christian. I know that many others have been similarly affected and I hope that our testaments outweigh the ignorance of naysayers.
In short, thank you! And I was equally as pleased as the others to discover my name in the acknowledgments :) Someday, heaven willing, I hope that your name will appear in mine...
This post has already become so lengthy with answers to your questions about literary judgment and the nature of merit that I'll refrain from adding any more. And, for fear of spoiling the enjoyment of those who haven't finished Factotum, I'll also refrain from detailed questions or comments. I will say this: it is a wonderful, beautiful, and moving story. I was taken to places that I longed to stay, and to others that were truly terrible. Perhaps my only disappointment was that I didn't get to re-visit or re-meet some favorite places and persons from the first two books. But I suppose that having to leave things behind in order to grow and move on is part of what the story is about. I feel fortunate that, nonetheless, I'll be able to occasionally re-visit and re-meet by re-reading the books. Congratulations, Master Cornish, on a great achievement.
they are just stuped ingnorant trolls ignore there fits. Its just trying to attract attention which is undeserved. I would have respected there opinion if they read it which i take they didnt those opinions would be valid. They fail at answering why its bad and usually critics would have something worthwhile about the thing they are critisizing(balanced journalism). They dont even ask on what needs to be improved! They are trolls and the best way is not to feed them.
i disliked the books complexity until i read the explicarium. Hmm... I wonder why you put them in for us?(sarcasm)
ps how is hc climate like? Is it like australia?
Factotum is the greatest in the series so far
your words make your world real for us.
This seems quite silly, but I read this post and then watched the newest Barbie doll movie ("A Fashion Fairytale") over the weekend. Barbie's movie talked about what happens when no one seems to like your work anymore, which is appropriate to the discussion here, and she found out that it doesn't matter what others think, as long as you have faith in yourself and love what you do. And after reading all of these comments, that's the main vibe I get from everyone else, along with the idea that everyone has different opinions and we here just so happen to love your work.
I also wanted to pipe up with my own thanks for my name in the acknowledgements! I just bought Factotum yesterday, and I was super excited to see my name printed. Now I just have to eke out some time to read it.
Two points for where it does matter what others think.
Ego: When you put all your heart and soul into something and display it to the world, it would take someone very courageous to continue in their stride without some kindly recognition. Particularly with a first up original new world epic trilogy such as MBT.
Money: We all need Mr. Cornish to fill his piggy bank, so as to provide him with the means to continue his art. Not too much though that he might head for early retirement or any such foolishness ;)
The act of the Critic is to provide a Critique: an article or essay criticizing a literary or other work; detailed evaluation; review.
Criticism in its simplist and perhaps most useless form, is: the act of passing severe judgment; censure; faultfinding.
Sadly, it seems as if the faultfinding version of critism is all that is ever used these days.
So I finished Factotum yesterday...I can count on one hand the number of books that have made me cry, and now Factotum joins their ranks! It was like saying goodbye to old friends.
I do wish that Rossamünd's belly button situation had been addressed ;)
I can imagine a placenta of sorts nourishing the growing babe from the life giving muds.
Darter, I probably should have specified that despite the similar reaction to my work that Mr. Cornish has received pre-published has not stopped me from pursuing the ever complex world I have been at for almost ten years now. I love my world, I'm proud of it, but the rest of this world may never see it. It'll come out when it's ready. I was trying to let Mr. Cornish know that I've been there, too; I've doubted that it was 'worth it' in the past. Perhaps my method was incomplete by not also stating that I love it anyway, and that this is all that matters to me. That it exists, for me or others, and makes me happy are all that I care about.
I just got Factotum the other day and have been reading it at every small oppurtunity I get. Before I started reading, however, I thought of a question. I don't know if you've already answered it in the Explicarium or this blog and if you have please forgive my ignorance. Well, here I go. Are there any diseases that are communicable between monsters and everymen? In the world in which we live in, there are many diseases that people have gotten from animals. Also, the transfer of blood is highly risky for the aquiring of diseases. It seems that with all of the monster-blood tattoos the risk of an epidemic is very large. Is there such diseases? Maybe there are ways of sterilizing the monster-blood before it is tattooed into someone's skin? Just wondering. I was also wondering if you could give more info on the different types of government.
Wanted to say that you've inspired me, D M, to be a better author (more like you) and to create my own world with a friend who is also a fan and has commented here too (LotR fan or something).
Now, back to Factotum (gleeful chuckle as I rub my hands together apprehensively).
To Darter, Brandy, and any other who are in the same boat of having a creative world but are lax in the way of presenting it any time soon... (i.e. me too).
Indeed the creation of a complex fantasy world is for your eye alone. Little regard is given at first to where the world might take such 'foreigners'. However as I've learned it gets hardest about the time your perception of the world matures and you figure what just might someone experience/perceive from this world - however it's presented.
Whether you intend it for a publication or no, it's ideal to complete as much structure and plot of your world and then revise it if to ensnare more readers is your aim. To write directly for the public is harsh and risky in my eye. This view is just my way of seeing the first publication of a very personal story being carried out. You may handle it differently but I know that almost every single one of us has just a hidden fantasy. Rarely are people motivated to compete it because they're scared of what may come at the very end.
I say use the dumbest dumbed-down list of steps available and just do what you want to do. You can fix it up later ;P
It helps to set yourself assignments, giving yourself obligations and training your brain to work when you need it. Outside encouragement works best too and I still can't get over the way Mr. Cornish fist began writing MBT... "Somebody looks at my sketchbooks and force me to write!" **waves book in publisher's faces** <=(
I'm not saying it's not hard, but it helps if you're stubborn or headstrong =P
ENR, I hear you. I've had this world and the stories therein rolling about for some long that, sometimes, I wonder if I won't ever publish anything because as I get older, what I think make sense evolves. I find, however, that my biggest obstacle is knowing where to start! There is so much to tell, it's hard to pick what is best to present first. Recently, my one and only fan (!) suggested that I write them all at the same time, when the mood strikes me, and then decide later which to publish first. I thought it was a grand idea! So the endeavor has begun (although, it is far from the first time I've tried to the write the tales, oh Lord!) I hope we'll all get to share each other's 'hidden worlds' with everyone else in the future, near or far. 'Twould be grand!
An author is the lucky person who is able to publish their imagination for everyone to share (which is daunting). The reader is the one who gets a picture of what is happening by a web of words. Every spiders web is different. Some people hate the complexity of a certain web for it is beyond them. Others love it becasue it allows for a better communication between author and reader. If we judge anothers' imagination we likely don't have much respect for our own.
"The masses are asses" Nuff said.
Did someone already mention this but I thought maybe Threnody would make a showing in Factotum. But on the other hand I'm glad she didn't because I think sometimes a 3rd book can fall into the too-easy trap of "Everything has to be tied up with a bow." So, I respect that you left some things amiss.... much like life.
I agree with Wendy. The ending didn't feel like a sealed parcel and that life continued. As Isobelle Carmody said, 'You must make it feel as though they existed before the story began and life goes on after it finishes.' in different words obviously: anyway, my point was made.
Thank you all for your honesty and your mutual encouragements here. Until my Oz publisher actually asked me about my pretend world, I was usua;;y very embarassed about it and shared only with a trusted few. So if that is any of you right now, I 'totally' get it.
I too, as E.N.R. has said, reached a point with my ideation (well before any publishing was in the offing, back in the "embarassing nerdy hobby" days) where I began to really hone my ideas, or set them up to be robust enough for external criticism and can only recommend similar rigour - as painful as it can be. I reckon there can be a fine, herd-to-pin line between self-expression and self-indulgence (too fine sometimes for my liking, but that is where a trusted editor/beneficiant critic can help...)
I hope I'm not too late to say something about these criticisms.
"There are those...." is what my Mother and Father constantly say when we (as their children) come against what we deem an unfair critique. And there are those. There are those who seem to be full to overflowing of negative criticisms that they spout to others without regard to their emotions and feelings. Whether or not such a critic has anonymity through the veil of the internet doesn't mean that they should feel so free to cut others down with their remarks, as if the person didn't even exist.
I finished reading Factotum the other week after searching it out in every bookstore only to find that they didn't have it in stock. And then one rainy Friday afternoon after asking at the desk of an Angus & Robertson Bookstore for any books by D.M Cornish I found it. I almost cried out I was so happy. I started reading right away and loved every bit of it, right up until I was left crying at the parting of ways of Europe and Rossamund. You see Mr. Cornish, there are those who will never get why you created an imaginary world and why so many people enjoy reading about it, wishing that they were there. But there are those who love every bit of your world that you cared to reveal to us, despite the lurking danger of something more hurtful than what they call "negative criticism". You are among friends here Mr. Cornish, and please keep on sharing with us your world.
Ok, so the real answer here is to read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, because in the first few pages he addresses just such issues, and from such a standpoint as his one cannot be disappointed in the conclusions he makes, nor the wonderful journey he takes us on...
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