Why Library School Slaughters

The idea of humanity taking a next big evolutionary step is a fairly common element in sci-fi. What did you think of the collective-gestalt idea?

Even though it was hard to grasp, I did appreciate the collective gestalt idea and it was something I didn't expect in a sci-fi book. I usually enjoy books that say something about one's way of thinking and their behavior, Agree with Amy - I think Sturgeon presented the evolution of humanity in a style that is very much outside of the box - did not expect this in reading sci-fi. I liked the idea that even though each character individually had some strange incompetence, when they all came together, they complemented each other and sought to protect the entire homo-gestalt. In contrast, if the group was missing the strongest trait of one of the characters or killed off one another, it would be a kind of self-harm to the homo-gestalt.


The book included minority characters at a time when that was still probably a controversial notion. Does it still seem to be a progressive element of the book?

I understood this as a question of his use of language or terms... such as the use of "idiot", mongoloid, and negroes, which are not politically correct. I can see how at the time Sturgeon used characters with traits that were once considered 'inferior' (especially in the 50's ) to set the basis for the evolution of gestalt... It still is unfit by today's standards to degrade anyone for their abilities or race, but after the initial shock of seeing the terms being used, I still think if you can overlook the descriptions, he is still able to convey his ideas about how each character came together with what at the time was perceived as inferior to evolve into one thriving being..

Do the dissonant voices of sections one two and three contribute to the author's concept of a gestalt for you the reader?

I thought the voices were too disjointed to the point that I could not grasp the fact that each character was there to complement each other and be a part of the overall homo-gestalt. The three parts also seemed to have to far of a time span (which was not acknowledged in any part of the story), and I think the dissonant voices became more of an overall distraction. If each character was given more depth or a memorable personality that I could connect to, I could come to my own conclusion about the concept of 'gestalt' (which would have been more meaningful for me as a reader), than having to piece together the concept which is explicitly laid out in the last 40 pages.