tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163165929158089008.post1160204620032233142..comments2024-03-06T08:05:29.800-05:00Comments on Casual Debris: Casual Shorts & the ISFdb Top Short Fiction #11: Jeffty Is Five by Harlan EllisonCasual Debrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08098608670682517783noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163165929158089008.post-64518468988812128082022-12-31T20:31:49.417-05:002022-12-31T20:31:49.417-05:00Well, yes, sometimes it shows, and yet I suspect h...Well, yes, sometimes it shows, and yet I suspect he labored over the likes of "'Repent'", which is still effective in part if excessively cute. Algis Budrys noted that from early on, Ellison wanted to consistently attack the reader, something with which Ellison consistently agreed, and sometimes that attack or at least attempt at shaking things up just isn't sufficiently startling. But his best work remains moving, for me and a number of others, I suspect. Todd Masonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18104399586348314594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163165929158089008.post-79719812941578616152022-12-30T20:33:02.924-05:002022-12-30T20:33:02.924-05:00Thanks Todd. I haven't yet read "Deathbir...Thanks Todd. I haven't yet read "Deathbird" but it is on the horizon as I run through the ISFdb list. I did like "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes" more than most seem to have. I've only enjoy about a quarter of what I've read of Ellison, which is likely normal since he overproduced. The thing is, as I get older & re-read his stories, I tend to like them less and less. "Repent Harlequin!" especially, for some reason, which I recall loving as a teen on my first encounter. Ellison boasted a good deal about how quick he was in writing his stories, and sometimes it really shows, like in "Jeffty" where he does not seem to know exactly what he was writing.Casual Debrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08098608670682517783noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163165929158089008.post-10658210211146660632022-12-28T17:53:56.265-05:002022-12-28T17:53:56.265-05:00Joanna Russ, in assessing the story for an F&S...Joanna Russ, in assessing the story for an F&SF book review, suggested that the last lines of the story should be Ellison's own, "They don't die of the old diseases. They die of new ones." (Close paraphrase from memory.) Ellison, unsurprisingly, took issue. It's not his best story, by me, by any means (though I remain a staunch defender of "The Deathbird", which engages in at least as much emotionalism, and the likes of "Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes", which manages to transcend some of the blithe acceptances of the times. A large Facebook group was discussing this story not so long ago...I'll get you the address for that discussion once on an Fb-burdened machine again.Todd Masonnoreply@blogger.com