Only Adam Bertocci could take one of the oldest and tritest riddles in the book (it dates to 1847, I discovered in writing this post) and transform it into a compelling work of literary fiction. I mean, really, in this very short story he manages to weave together feelings of romance, fate, heartbreak, and dark comedy. I’ve read novels that didn’t have as much going on in them as this book does.
It’s the story of a chicken named Bertram, and the reasons that he decides to flee the farm life and go to… the other side. But, like many another literary crossing, this is more than just a literal crossing. It is a spiritual transformation.
This is somehow both very moving and deeply funny. I’m reminded of Paul Graham’s essay “Taste for Makers”:
The confident will often, like swallows, seem to be making fun of the whole process slightly, as Hitchcock does in his films or Bruegel in his paintings– or Shakespeare, for that matter.
That’s Bertocci to a “T”. He crafts something that is simultaneously a parody of the literary short form and a magnificent example of it. And he does it while staying true to the source material. The same cannot be said of many another modern adaptation.
And while I’ve never been as good at writing to prompts as, say, my friend Mark Paxson is… this made me wonder: what other hackneyed jokes or riddles could be repurposed as fodder for literary works? Knock, knock… who is there?
Well, I’ll leave that up to the rest of you. In the meantime, if you’re in the mood for a quick and clever literary experiment, pick this up.
Thanks for the link to Paul Graham’s essay “Taste for Makers” I’ve kept it on my favourites to read in more detail
Roger
My pleasure! Graham is one of my favorite essayists.
Say, I’m unaware of anybody ever else mentioning a Miyake Event. Have you researched such things? Solar storms make up a significant portion of my fiction writing. I personally feel that such events will undoubtedly end society as we know it — in the coming decades. I can’t wait!
I’ve looked into it a bit, yes. I’m certainly no expert on the science of it, but I have this idea for a story I’d like to write that involves such an event.
Apart from that, the way I see it, a solar storm of that strength is pretty much the only thing standing in the way of AGI taking over the world. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing depends on your point of view. 🙂
Our, humanity’s salvation, is dependent upon an AGI assuming control of all the world’s governments. We’re essentially doomed without it. But then… A CME is destined to show up sooner than later, kinda quashing the ol’ AI takeover. I sure wish one of these would hurry up and get here.
Have you ever seen the movie Colossus (1970)? It’s essentially the scenario you describe with AI taking over the world governments. The computer makes a compelling argument for why it is better suited for the job than humans.
However, while it could be argued that AGI is the best hope for salvation of the concept of intelligence as we understand it, I’m not sure it’s the best bet for humanity as such. Humans really aren’t the ideal platform for running complex intelligence.
Colossus? No, will seek it out.thanks