The Physiognomy
by Jeffrey Ford
List Price: $5.99
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0380793326
Publisher: HarperCollins
The nightmare metropolis called the Well-Built City exists because the
satanic genius and Master, Drachton Below, wished it so. And few within
its confines hold the power of Physiognomist First Class Cley. With scalpels,
calipers, and the other instruments of his science, Cley can divine good
and evil, determine character and intelligence, uncover dark secrets and
foretell a person's destiny, through the careful study of facial and bodily
features. But now the Master has ordered the great physiognomist out of
the City on a seemingly trivial assignment into the rural hinterlands.
but there, removed from Below's omnipresent scrutiny, even the most loyal
servant of logic and order can fall prey to seductions of the flesh and
spirit. And in this strange and unfamiliar place possessing terrors uniquely
its own, there are stark truths awaiting the eminent Cley--and inescapable
revelations that could shatter his perceptions of himself, his profession,
and his world.
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1. The idea of physiognomy
is that one can read depth from clues found on the surface. In what
ways is this practice still in use in today's society?
2. Although the act of judging
a book by its cover, so to speak, can lead to problems like stereotyping,
when might it be absolutely necessary for one to utilize this technique?
3. When the book begins, who
is the figure of greater evil, Cley or Below?
4. Compare the worlds of The
Well-Built City and Anamasobia. How are their citizens different? How
are they different physically and philosophically?
5. What are the advantages
and disadvantages of Cley being able to use "sheer beauty"?
6. How does the concept of
Paradise change throughout the book -- in different situations and for
the different characters?
7. What does the concept of
Paradise bring to mind in relation to our present culture?
8. What is it that makes Cley
lose the power of the physiognomy?
9. If you were a subject in
the Well-Built City, how would your own physiognomy fare?
10. How important are Cley's
friends, the mayor and Calloo, to the success of his goal?
11. What does Cley learn in
the mines of Doralice?
12. Is Silencio friend or foe?
Why the wide use of monkey imagery through the book?
13. Discuss the major transformations
Cley undergoes in the book.
14. At the end of the novel,
is the green veil a sign that Arla has forgiven Cley or not? Should
she ever forgive him?
15. How does the place that
Cley reaches at the end of the novel (Wenau) coincide with his dream
of Paradise throughout the work?
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"A modern allegory in the manner of Franz Kafka...."—The New York Times
"Ford is a gifted writer who has produced a real page-turner of a moral allegory..."—Locus
