Posted by Rodger Whitlock on December 16, 1997 at 13:22:40:
In Reply to: Re: "The Pilgrims" : A Canterbury Tale? posted by iotar on December 16, 1997 at 10:05:19:
Iotar wrote:
: ...has anyone else noticed a similarity to Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" in this story. Similarly some earlier sections (Soz, same problem!) also present similarities to Homer's "Odyssey".
: Is "Cugel's Saga" really a journey through the history of literature and the idea of the quest where one returns to the point of departure to "know the place for the first time"?
I've often mused on the possible influences on Vance's writing, particularly his great power of inventing cultures. As he and his family were wont to settle down for a long period in one location after another overseas, he must be quite familliar with many odd corners of this earth of ours. I wonder if when we read about the Lokhars, we are really reading a veiled travelogue.
The amazing patchwork of cultures in "The Planet of Adventure" series, where one goes a few miles and things change completely, reminds me very much of descriptions of China as it once was, particularly the western marches where Tibetans, Chinese, and many other groups mingled.
Sometimes I even think most of Vance's work is autobiographical at its roots and the entire oeuvre is a gigantic roman a clef.