30 Day Book Meme - Day 28

[selenite0]

Day 28 – Favorite title

Not a book, a short story: "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison. Totally nonsensical to those who haven't read the story, yet capturing its essence completely. It's the tale of a rebel in a dystopia where being late is the greatest crime, punished by death. Not for a first offense, no. It's just that all the time you're late is deducted from your lifespan and when you exceed what's left of your allocation the Ticktockman turns off your heart. In this land of conformity and control the Harlequin fights back with practical jokes.

I described this to celticdragonfly as "The weirdest story I like."


Day 01 – Best book you read last year
Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times
Day 03 – Your favorite series
Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series
Day 05 – A book that makes you happy
Day 06 – A book that makes you sad
Day 07 – Most underrated book
Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 10 – Favorite classic book
Day 11 – A book you hated
Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore
Day 13 – Your favorite writer
Day 14 – Favorite book of your favorite writer
Day 15 – Favorite male character
Day 16 – Favorite female character
Day 17 – Favorite quote from your favorite book
Day 18 – A book that disappointed you
Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie
Day 20 – Favorite romance book
Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood
Day 22 – Favorite book you own
Day 23 – A book you wanted to read for a long time but still haven’t
Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read
Day 25 – A character who you can relate to the most
Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something
Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending
Day 28 – Favorite title
Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked
Day 30 – Your favorite book of all time

Comments

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

It was not until many years after I first read the story that I realized what "mrmee, mrmee" was.

(It's not the only Ellison story that I've been slow to pick up details on.)

[selenite.livejournal.com]

I must confess I thought that was a random sound effect. What does it mean?

[stoutfellow.livejournal.com]

If I'm interpreting it correctly...

This is hard to describe.

You know how, in old cartoons, someone will react to something mind-blowing - even crazy-inducing - by placing an index finger horizontally against the lips and moving it rapidly up and down, flapping the lips and making an indescribable sound? I think that's what "mrmee, mrmee" is - indicating that the Harlequin had won a small victory of sorts, driving the Ticktockman crazy.

[drwex]

Quoting http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10294

Ellison replaces [the animals commonly found in fables] with machines in order to make this a science fiction fable rather than a fantastical one. The Ticktockman is described frequently in the narrative as something between human and robot. This description is codified in the end when he breaks down into the infamous, "mrmee, mrmee, mrmee"

On the other hand, Ellison himself is quoted as saying: "Sometimes a mrmee is…well…just a mrmee."

[drwex]

That was the story that convinced me I could actually like Ellison, as opposed to "admire his talent" and "tolerate Ellison". I remember reading it as a teenager when the entire world seemed absurd and immediately sympathizing with the surrealist situation.