Things like the mirrors and the Last House are described with a level of frankness that makes them all the more surreal. I absolutely love the way Wolfe presents the science fiction elements of his story so, for lack of a better word, naturalistically. Gene Wolfe said "you're not gonna understand this, but you're gonna like it". demands close attention but also rejects it, lol. Now the things I struggled with at the beginning (the meandering nature, Severian's personality, the long and complex descriptions) seem like the most vital and interesting parts of the story. And now I'm champing at the bit to finish it so I can go back and read the whole series from the beginning. I pushed on because I've been trying to read all the major SF classics, and because I'm a completist. I felt like I couldn't get a handle on what was happening. The meandering nature of the narrative also threw me off. I'd reread portions and still feel utterly clueless. I felt like so much of the narrative was going over my head. 1 I often felt alternately frustrated and.
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