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Variant, v. 1, issue 2, whole no. 2, May 1947
Page 10
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May 1947 VARIANT Page 10 sometimes I am worried over thee, my dear." I hasten to state that there is an important reason. One reacts differently to an insane person. This can be stated in three ways. 1. One does not argue with him. If his mind has solidified around some wretched irrationality, one does not elevate the blood pressure and engage in verbal and actual fisticuffs to melt it loose. 2. One does not leave oneself unguarded with him. One avoids the subjects on which he is irrational, or one expects his vagaries, or indifference, or absurd elation and extreme depressions. One does not expect more of him than he can deliver, emotionally, socially, or intellectually. 3. One respects him within his limitations. In the matter wherein he is competent, at the times when he is charming, over the subjects about which he is intelligent, one engages and gains from the association without losing sight of his limitations. ……………………………………………………. WORLD WITHOUT RAIMENT (The nudist Stf Book) by Louise Dardenelle Review by I. Seymour (Just in case some fan is unable to recognize Mr. Seymour's rather individualistic style, we append the note that: Mr. Seymour is the pseudonym of a notorious character who has created Vomaidens, Ed.) Is World Without Raiment the world's worst stf book? Robert Heinlein recommended it to me as such, so of course, I had to see how it compared with such notable no-goods as The Island of The Great Mother, Test Tube Baby, The Metamorphosis, Perelandra, etc. The verdict: not completely bad, but pretty sad. Particles form a gaseous constellation or wild star (that's what the book says) are drawn into our stratosphere, with these results: Just about everything on earth disintegrates but people...The entire planet gets a climate like the Chamber of Commerce says Southern California has...and edibles are mutated to several times normal size. While the wonder rays of the Wild star, incidentally, are causing everything from nylons to pylons to crumble into dust, newspapers are strangely unaffected to the end, so that the public can still get all the latest dope in the horrible headlines. In the course of the story we are treated to some atrocious dialogue and some "dreadful" typographical errors. At least, the blurb was honest. It plainly stated (italics mine) "You will watch with bated breath the disintegration of our beautiful city." Later, after promising to lead us to Utopia, the authoress states, "And with it all may come, even to you, dear reader, a sweet unforgettable dream from which you can never entirely awaken. "To sleep -- perchance to dream -- aye! there's the rub. Pass the hot black coffee, bub!" As a consequence of universal nudism the world is freed of A) lust; B) greed; C) fear; and D) sin. And, at the end of the book, the lion and the lamb lie down together - literally - being two animals that escaped from a zoo. After that it would not have surprised me to have read that Ackerman and Searles embraced, or Wolheim offered Weaver Wright the shirt off his back. There is one saving grace: The authoress, as might have been feared, did not attempt to illustrate the book (published 1943 by Valiant Press, NYC, 260 pgs.) The naked truth about World Without Rainment is that it's something to grin and bare...mais variment!
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May 1947 VARIANT Page 10 sometimes I am worried over thee, my dear." I hasten to state that there is an important reason. One reacts differently to an insane person. This can be stated in three ways. 1. One does not argue with him. If his mind has solidified around some wretched irrationality, one does not elevate the blood pressure and engage in verbal and actual fisticuffs to melt it loose. 2. One does not leave oneself unguarded with him. One avoids the subjects on which he is irrational, or one expects his vagaries, or indifference, or absurd elation and extreme depressions. One does not expect more of him than he can deliver, emotionally, socially, or intellectually. 3. One respects him within his limitations. In the matter wherein he is competent, at the times when he is charming, over the subjects about which he is intelligent, one engages and gains from the association without losing sight of his limitations. ……………………………………………………. WORLD WITHOUT RAIMENT (The nudist Stf Book) by Louise Dardenelle Review by I. Seymour (Just in case some fan is unable to recognize Mr. Seymour's rather individualistic style, we append the note that: Mr. Seymour is the pseudonym of a notorious character who has created Vomaidens, Ed.) Is World Without Raiment the world's worst stf book? Robert Heinlein recommended it to me as such, so of course, I had to see how it compared with such notable no-goods as The Island of The Great Mother, Test Tube Baby, The Metamorphosis, Perelandra, etc. The verdict: not completely bad, but pretty sad. Particles form a gaseous constellation or wild star (that's what the book says) are drawn into our stratosphere, with these results: Just about everything on earth disintegrates but people...The entire planet gets a climate like the Chamber of Commerce says Southern California has...and edibles are mutated to several times normal size. While the wonder rays of the Wild star, incidentally, are causing everything from nylons to pylons to crumble into dust, newspapers are strangely unaffected to the end, so that the public can still get all the latest dope in the horrible headlines. In the course of the story we are treated to some atrocious dialogue and some "dreadful" typographical errors. At least, the blurb was honest. It plainly stated (italics mine) "You will watch with bated breath the disintegration of our beautiful city." Later, after promising to lead us to Utopia, the authoress states, "And with it all may come, even to you, dear reader, a sweet unforgettable dream from which you can never entirely awaken. "To sleep -- perchance to dream -- aye! there's the rub. Pass the hot black coffee, bub!" As a consequence of universal nudism the world is freed of A) lust; B) greed; C) fear; and D) sin. And, at the end of the book, the lion and the lamb lie down together - literally - being two animals that escaped from a zoo. After that it would not have surprised me to have read that Ackerman and Searles embraced, or Wolheim offered Weaver Wright the shirt off his back. There is one saving grace: The authoress, as might have been feared, did not attempt to illustrate the book (published 1943 by Valiant Press, NYC, 260 pgs.) The naked truth about World Without Rainment is that it's something to grin and bare...mais variment!
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