ATD 1018-1039

Revision as of 13:47, 29 January 2007 by Volver (Talk | contribs) (Page 1024)

Please keep these annotations SPOILER-FREE by not revealing information from later pages in the novel.


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Sample entry
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Page 1018

All Europe sweltered
A possible jump in time of the action. I can't find year-by-year weather records going back to the 1910s, though. --Volver 12:52, 29 January 2007 (PST)

Page 1019

the well-known Tour d'Argent in Paris
Wikipedia says the establishment is over 400 years old.

Balthazar
Wine bottle with a capacity of 16 liters.

Not long before, Pugnax had convinced her to come aboard
So the action here is set before Kseniya's encounter with Ljubica?

Page 1020

sympiezometer
Form of barometer invented in 1818, says the 1911 Britannica.

first Inconvenience after the little-known Battle of Desconocido
Another allusion to naval customs, an item claimed from a ship and carried aboard her namesake. Desconocido is Spanish: unknown.

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Pythagorean or Counter-Earth . . . Antichthon . . . the Sun is always between us
Fictional device also used in Nabokov's Ada (though not in such a powerful way). People from one Earth can visit the other, speak the language, recognize the topography, but see differences in history and customs; neither planet can ever be aware of the other in the normal course of things.

The Counter-Earth resolves the problem of Sirius rising in the summer (annotations to page 901). When one Earth is at January in its orbit, the other is at July. --Volver 13:15, 29 January 2007 (PST)

X-ray Spex
Previously mentioned on page 588.

American Republic . . . passed so irrevocably into the control of the evil and moronic
We're using Pynchon's ball, so we'll play by his rules. The Chums have journeyed from the other Earth to this one, not the other way around.

Foundational Memorandum
The Star Trek Prime Directive again; see annotations to page 8 for its first occurrence.

Page 1022

Baklashchan
???

Bactrian camel
Dromedary vs. Bactrian: the mnemonic says count the humps in the first letter. Bactrian, two humps.

Page 1023

Lwów
Name of Lviv (Lvov, L'vov) at times when it was under Polish rule.

the High Tatra
Tatra mountain range in Slovakia.

Cyrenaica
Eastern coastal part of Libya, bordering Egypt on its east.

baleful mists above West Flanders
Much of the horror of the World War was centered here (Ypres, Menin, Passchendaele).

Page 1024

Dobro pozhalovat
Russian: Welcome!

Tsar-Bell of Moscow
Famous bell that proved too heavy for the tower it was intended for; it was displayed on the ground for centuries (and may still be).

cranberry-flavored beer
Kvass, traditional Russian beverage made by fermenting a mash of stale rye bread. It can be flavored with, among other things, cranberries.

since a great influenza epidemic
The epidemic had gone on for several years before it burst out at the end of the World War and killed millions.

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paranoia querelans
Elsewhere in AtD it's spelled querulans.

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Annotation Index

Part One:
The Light Over the Ranges

1-25, 26-56, 57-80, 81-96, 97-118

Part Two:
Iceland Spar

119-148, 149-170, 171-198, 199-218, 219-242, 243-272, 273-295, 296-317, 318-335, 336-357, 358-373, 374-396, 397-428

Part Three:
Bilocations

429-459, 460-488, 489-524, 525-556, 557-587, 588-614, 615-643, 644-677, 678-694

Part Four:
Against the Day

695-723, 724-747, 748-767, 768-791, 792-820, 821-848, 849-863, 864-891, 892-918, 919-945, 946-975, 976-999, 1000-1017, 1018-1039, 1040-1062

Part Five:
Rue du Départ

1063-1085