Sometimes, the act of turning the page is part of the process of reading a text. A friend once told me that he read a novel where, several times, the text continued to the bottom of a right hand page, then, on turning the page, he found that the next page began with a change of scene. He added that this happened too often to be a coincidence. Someone had designed the book to coordinate turnings of the page with changes of scene.
It is impossible to know whether the following single example is merely a coincidence. It is not a change of scene but something more dramatic. Poul Anderson has made us care about the intelligent seal, He'o.
The concluding two lines of p. 159:
"His whiskers quivered. 'I, though, I am going home to
my sea.'"
The opening two lines of p. 160:
"Thunder smote. His skull exploded. Blood and brains
fountained."
Maybe the pagination differs in other editions?
Life has become busier. I need exercise and have evening commitments. So far this month, I have averaged seven posts per day but that might be about to slow down.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteI think books are sometimes designed to be printed as your friend described. But, most times, of course, it's not like that. And I have commented before on pages you cited did not match with my copies of the same books. Mostly because the pagination of hard backs and paper backs differ.
I think I remember where that bit about He'o occurred in THE FLEET OF STARS. I think it's where He'o stated he did not think the Moon would make a satisfactory site for a colony his people would settle.
Sean