I finished re-reading the novel Today We Choose Faces last evening
("Pull pin seven!!!"), and once again I was caught by surprise with the
glaring typo on the last page in which de Negri tells his new secretary
to give Styler the message that the "debt of honer" is over between
them. "Honor" would be the correct spelling, or "honour" in a UK
edition.
But...
But then it struck me for the first time that maybe it's supposed to be
a pun, a play on words. With the resolution of the novel, de Negri has
realized that all along he was unwittingly being "used" by Styler to
fa****on the future course of humanity. Note: Styler = one who adjusts
something to suit their fa****on or taste. Honer = one who uses a
whetstone for sharpening a tool, or the one who uses the tool itself to
fa****on something to more precise dimensions or shape.
Thus "debt of honer" acknowledging to Styler that he (de Negri) has
been used as the sharpening tool, and being a play on the expression
"debt of honor."
The trouble I have with being certain about this is that the editions
of the book that I have were all from the same typset (the 1st edition
Signet paperback, the UK 1st edition hardback, the reprint hardback
from Gregg Press, and the Signet double with Bridge of Ashes -- the
latter three are all photoreprints of the 1st edition Signet
paperback). I don't have an edition that was retypset to see if the
word persists as "honer." And it's possible it could have been changed
to "honor" in other books by mistake if it was presumed to be a typo.
The other thing that puzzled me is that there is an extensive
essay/critique about the novel in the Gregg Press edition, in which the
essayist writes about the literary allusions and the significance of
names (de Negri / Black / Angel / Lange / Styler), but never mentions
"debt of honer." Maybe the essayist overlooked it as a typo.
But I think it was a pun. Not as obvious a pun as "the fit hit the
Shan" but a Zelazny pun nonetheless.
Comments, anyone? If not, don't forget it's nearly time to re-read A
Night in the Lonesome October...
Chris
change mac dot com to mun dot ca to reply
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