![]() ![]() ![]() The canine Editor's Preface makes use of the parodic formula of newly discovered literary fragments that may throw light on a controversy, whether the oral tales told to the pups, "when the fires burn high and the wind is from the north" (5)-that is, the north American winter-have any basis in fact: namely that Man (humankind) did exist and had a close association with the Dogs of old. They are also a means of bringing into prominence Simak's main themes. They add an element of mythologising to City the novel and in mood reflect the good-heartedness attributed to Simak. ![]() The notes to the tales, if brought together, would form a short story in themselves as a science fiction dog's colloquy (with a sidelong acknowledgment to Cervantes). Simak writes the debates as connecting links between the tales, what Tweet calls "narrative bridges" (515), all the more important because some stories on their own appear to have few if any links with the others. One of the strategies which helps City work as a novel is Simak's gentle parody of a critical literary debate between canine scholars about the authenticity of the stories. ![]()
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