Challenge 345 Response:
“Beyond the Island”
by Bill Bowler
Does Lord Max Nagual’s account clarify Brian’s out of body experiences of the previous 24 chapters?
No, nor is it meant to. No clarification is necessary. The out of body experiences are simply the reality of Brian’s existence. The world in which “Island” is set is a seamless continuum from upstate New York to the Astral Plane. What Max clarifies is the pre-existing relationship among Brian, Karen and Ursula, which reveals Max’s motive for “taking” Karen.
Is Lord Max Nagual’s account an allegory of the story of Brian and Karen? — No. It is the history of their relationship.
Why should Brian believe Max’s story? Does he have any choice in the matter?
These are quite interesting questions, especially as they address the matter of free will, one of the main themes of the novella. It goes back to my reading of the original version with its marvelously ambiguous ending.
I congratulated the author on leaving the door open to the possibility that Mudd was a raving lunatic. John was horrified and rewrote the ending to leave no doubt that Max was telling the truth.
The problem with Max’s recounting of the previous experiences on the alien planet is that it is too little, too late. Max’s interpolated story of the pre-history should probably be told in the same detail as the “present day” story. It would, of course, add quite a few more pages to the novel...
Does “Beyond the Island” transgress Bewildering Stories’ guideline about stories that end “but it was all a dream (or hallucination)”? — I don’t think so. It all happened.
Copyright © 2009 by Bill Bowler
