(urth) The green man is a fake

[Jerry Friedman]

> From: Lee Berman <severiansola at hotmail.com>

...

> >Jerry Friedman: I can't put much stock in his saying "a great liar",  since he 
>has another reason 
>
> >to say that, and I don't see why he'd give  Severian even that much of a 
hint.
> 
> What other reason? Why would ANYONE  say they were a liar? As we are at least 
>partially aware, he
> says he is a  liar because Gene Wolfe makes him say so. It is Gene Wolfe giving 
>us a hint, as  a
> good storyteller/puzzle maker must. The only people who say they are liars  
>are..well....liars. 
>
> Liars hoping that a bit of honesty will seduce a  perceptive listener into 
>believing the lie anyway 
>
> (which is what has  happened here).**
...

The other possible understanding of his comment might be "It should be obvious 
that
my fortune-telling will be lies, since my foot's caught in a trap.  If you don't 
want to
hear lies, we can talk about what's important to me--my foot's caught in a 
trap."

Jerry Friedman