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Commentary on YMOM
We were considering writing a study guide for YMOMTetragram for The Young Man and the Old Man [X], but,
were mindful of the Old Man's instruction to Young Man in Chapter 9, and therefore decided against it (see blog).
However, having given this some more thought, a running commentary sort of like the director's cut of a
movie strikes me as a gentler, do-able option -- hopefully one that would not be objectionable to the Old Man.
So let's consider this our first commentary on YMOM.
But first:
Although most of these commentary posts will be marked as containing spoilers, you can read 25% of the eBook for free on Amazon's 'Read Sample' feature which will take you midway through chapter 4. This should allow you to participate in following the commentaries without having to invest the $3 to purchase the eBook or $7 for audiobook.
And now for the commentary:
Let's start with a general outline. The story actually begins with chapter 3. Young Man is reading about the Fall of First Man and First Woman in the Holy Book of ONE. Chapters 1 and 2, which we also refer to as a Prologue, are what the Young Man has just finished reading. Chapter 1 is about ONE creating the Universe, similar to Genesis 1 in the Bible. Chapter 2 is about the Fall of First Man and First Woman, similar to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 & 3.
It is after Young Man reads chapters 1 and 2 of the Holy Book of ONE that he expresses his dilemma, the age-old perennial question of how ONE can allow so much suffering in the world to exist. Then, pondering his question while looking out the window, Young Man witnesses a curious event in the marketplace involving an Old Man. His curiosity piqued, Young Man is drawn to seek out the Old Man. The rest of the story is about the day that Young Man spends with the Old Man listening to his stories and being shown strange sights. By the end of Chapter 9, Young Man's life is transformed by the Old Man's wisdom. Young Man vows to share that wisdom with everyone in the Land. In the final Chapter 10, however, Young Man wakes up to an unexpected surprise! Many readers have told me that as soon as they finished the story, they immediately re-read the Prologue looking for clues to what i refer to as the Ultimate Spoiler (one that i, vic smyth, Read FAQ 'Why does vic smyth use all lowercase letters?' [X] will not reveal).
Why will the Ultimate Spoiler never be revealed?
i wrote YMOM in the winter months of 1983. In 2007, i self-published the eBook version online. Before that i probably read YMOM a couple dozen times. Right before i published it, i proofread it seven times checking for typos and grammatical errors. It was only during this time, some 25 years after i wrote YMOM, that i 'got' the Ultimate Spoiler, surprised that i had never caught it before despite writing it, typing it twice and reading it dozens of times. So don't feel bad if you did not 'get' it on the first reading, or the second, or the third...
And why will i never reveal it? Because at the end of Chapter 9 that is the advice that the Old Man gave to the Young Man. And why would i go against the Old Man's advice... ?
So let's consider this our first commentary on YMOM.
But first:
Although most of these commentary posts will be marked as containing spoilers, you can read 25% of the eBook for free on Amazon's 'Read Sample' feature which will take you midway through chapter 4. This should allow you to participate in following the commentaries without having to invest the $3 to purchase the eBook or $7 for audiobook.
And now for the commentary:
Let's start with a general outline. The story actually begins with chapter 3. Young Man is reading about the Fall of First Man and First Woman in the Holy Book of ONE. Chapters 1 and 2, which we also refer to as a Prologue, are what the Young Man has just finished reading. Chapter 1 is about ONE creating the Universe, similar to Genesis 1 in the Bible. Chapter 2 is about the Fall of First Man and First Woman, similar to the story of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2 & 3.
It is after Young Man reads chapters 1 and 2 of the Holy Book of ONE that he expresses his dilemma, the age-old perennial question of how ONE can allow so much suffering in the world to exist. Then, pondering his question while looking out the window, Young Man witnesses a curious event in the marketplace involving an Old Man. His curiosity piqued, Young Man is drawn to seek out the Old Man. The rest of the story is about the day that Young Man spends with the Old Man listening to his stories and being shown strange sights. By the end of Chapter 9, Young Man's life is transformed by the Old Man's wisdom. Young Man vows to share that wisdom with everyone in the Land. In the final Chapter 10, however, Young Man wakes up to an unexpected surprise! Many readers have told me that as soon as they finished the story, they immediately re-read the Prologue looking for clues to what i refer to as the Ultimate Spoiler (one that i, vic smyth, Read FAQ 'Why does vic smyth use all lowercase letters?' [X] will not reveal).
Why will the Ultimate Spoiler never be revealed?
i wrote YMOM in the winter months of 1983. In 2007, i self-published the eBook version online. Before that i probably read YMOM a couple dozen times. Right before i published it, i proofread it seven times checking for typos and grammatical errors. It was only during this time, some 25 years after i wrote YMOM, that i 'got' the Ultimate Spoiler, surprised that i had never caught it before despite writing it, typing it twice and reading it dozens of times. So don't feel bad if you did not 'get' it on the first reading, or the second, or the third...
And why will i never reveal it? Because at the end of Chapter 9 that is the advice that the Old Man gave to the Young Man. And why would i go against the Old Man's advice... ?
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