The Winter Market

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"The Winter Market"
Short story by William Gibson
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Science fiction
Publication
Published inBurning Chrome
Publication typeAnthology
PublisherArbor House
Publication dateApril 1986
Chronology
 
New Rose Hotel 		 
Dogfight

"The Winter Market" is a science fiction short story written by

Port of Vancouver).[2]

The market of the title was modelled on that of Granville Island, though in a state of bohemian decay.[1] As the author commented in a 2007 blog post: "Vancouver's Granville Island, centered around Granville Island Market (produce and food fair) is a very successful (and pleasant) retrofit of an under-bridge urban island that previously was heavily industrial. When the story was written, the retrofit was recent, and I dirtied it up for requisite punky near-future effect."[3]

Plot

The story primarily concerns human relationships and their tenuous and problematic qualities by deploying the concept of technological

drug abuse
. Hence, the act of leaving behind the original physical form is potentially one of escape into an untainted existence. However, the story undercuts this simplistic reading by convincingly evoking Lise's humanity and her longing for a "normal" relationship to her body.

Analysis

A 2010 photograph of the interior of the Granville Island public market, on which the market of the story's title is based

According to the analysis of critic Pramod Nayar, the story "depicts the body as a vehicle for experiencing dreams edited into Hollywood thrillers".[4]

Critic David Seed saw the character of Rubin as a "thinly disguised" incarnation of performance artist Mark Pauline of Survival Research Laboratories.[5]

Reception

The story was critically well-received, garnering nominations for the

Locus novelette category, third in the Interzone fiction category, and joint second in the Science Fiction Chronicle novelette category.[6]

References

  1. ^
    OCLC 30357339
    . Retrieved February 29, 2012.
  2. The Vancouver Sun
    . Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  3. ^ Gibson, William (June 2, 2007). "READERS ASK: THE WINTER MARKET". WilliamGibsonBooks.com. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
  4. ISBN 0-7619-3229-1
    .
  5. OCLC 56924865
    .
  6. Locusmag.com. Locus Publications. Archived from the original
    on February 7, 2011. Retrieved March 15, 2009.

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Winter_Market&oldid=1192551139"