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The Science Fiction Fan, v. 4, issue 5, whole no. 41, December 1939
Page 6
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6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAN Obviously Weinbaum has borrowed from several sources to rpoduce "The New Adam". Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Flimmarion all appear. I don't know if Weinbaum ever read the poetry of Conrad Aiken, that profound mystical pessimist, but certainly Aiken, is in "The New Adam", though in a more despairing, non-resistant mood. What does"The New Adam say? It says despair, futility, negation. It says the Buddhist Wheel of Life. It says "Om Mane Padme Hum". And it says that rebellion or rejection (through suicide) is fruitless because curving Time will reincarnate all misery. It is not a pleasant philosophy, it decrys endeavor, it preaches the deepest pessimism and melancholy, it offers only abject acceptance to soulless, mindless Chance. But the philosophy is not superficial. Accepted or rejected, it must be considered as the cry of a sick soul, the wail of one in torment. If Weinbaum had lived longer what would he have written? My own opinion is that he could have written no more - at least in a real sense. He might have turned out scores of profit-making books and stories, he might have made a comfortable living by peddling words. But artistically, aesthetically and philosophically he has displayed his inmost being, he had nothing further to say. Requescat in Pace "The New Adam" is a fitting monument to the memory of a tortured soul.
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6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAN Obviously Weinbaum has borrowed from several sources to rpoduce "The New Adam". Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Flimmarion all appear. I don't know if Weinbaum ever read the poetry of Conrad Aiken, that profound mystical pessimist, but certainly Aiken, is in "The New Adam", though in a more despairing, non-resistant mood. What does"The New Adam say? It says despair, futility, negation. It says the Buddhist Wheel of Life. It says "Om Mane Padme Hum". And it says that rebellion or rejection (through suicide) is fruitless because curving Time will reincarnate all misery. It is not a pleasant philosophy, it decrys endeavor, it preaches the deepest pessimism and melancholy, it offers only abject acceptance to soulless, mindless Chance. But the philosophy is not superficial. Accepted or rejected, it must be considered as the cry of a sick soul, the wail of one in torment. If Weinbaum had lived longer what would he have written? My own opinion is that he could have written no more - at least in a real sense. He might have turned out scores of profit-making books and stories, he might have made a comfortable living by peddling words. But artistically, aesthetically and philosophically he has displayed his inmost being, he had nothing further to say. Requescat in Pace "The New Adam" is a fitting monument to the memory of a tortured soul.
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