The Persistence of Vision (novella)

Short story by John Varley 1978)

"The Persistence of Vision" is a short story by American writer John Varley. It was included in the anthology of the same name and in The John Varley Reader.

"The Persistence of Vision"

Short story by John Varley
Country| United States
Language| English
Publication
Published in| The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
Publication date| 1978

## Plot summary

[edit]

A hitchhiker discovers the town of Keller, a commune whose adult inhabitants are all deafblind. He gradually explores the increasingly sophisticated levels of communication the inhabitants of the town have created, eventually realizing that he will never be able to fully attain the highest levels of communication. Unable to cope with this reality, he leaves the commune for the increasingly decrepit outside world. On New Year's Eve of 2000, he decides to return to Keller, where he discovers the adults have all vanished through some uncommunicable means. The remaining children have blinded and deafened themselves to remove the obstacles to comprehension, and the narrator soon joins them.[1]

## Reception

[edit]

"The Persistence of Vision" won the Nebula Award for Best Novella of 1978,[2] and the 1979 Hugo Award for Best Novella.[3]

James Nicoll felt that, as the story was written by John Varley in the 1970s, it was "pretty much guaranteed to be well written and worth reading", and noted that its setting required "social despair".[1]

In Science Fiction Studies, Clayton Koelb considered that the story's "principal theme" was the costs and rewards of escape from the world and the world's language into a language of pure presence".[4]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Nicoll, James (January 22, 2000). "Millennial Review X: The Persistence of Vision by John Varley (1978)". JamesDavisNicoll.com. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
2. ^ The Persistence of Vision, at Science Fiction Writers of America; retrieved June 6, 2021
3. ^ 1979 Hugo Awards, at TheHugoAwards.org; retrieved June 6, 2021
4. ^ The Language of Presence in Varley's "The Persistence of Vision", in Science Fiction Studies; Vol. 11, No. 2 (Jul., 1984), pp. 154–165, JSTOR 4239614

## External links

[edit]

* The Persistence of Vision title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

* v
* t
* e

John Varley

Novels|

| Eight Worlds|

* The Ophiuchi Hotline (1977)
* Steel Beach (1992)
* The Golden Globe (1998)

|

Gaea Trilogy|

* Titan (1979)
* Wizard (1980)
* Demon (1984)

* Millennium (1983)
* Red Thunder (2003)
* Mammoth (2005)

Short story collections|

* The Persistence of Vision (1978)
* The Barbie Murders (1980)
* Blue Champagne (1986)
* The John Varley Reader (2004)

Short stories|

* "The Barbie Murders" (1978)
* "The Persistence of Vision" (1978)
* "Press Enter" (1984)

Screenplays|

* Millennium (1989)

* v
* t
* e

Hugo Award for Best Novella

Retro Hugos|

* Who Goes There? by Don A. Stuart (1939)
* "If This Goes On—" by Robert A. Heinlein (1941)
* Waldo by Robert A. Heinlein (1943)
* The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1944)
* Killdozer! by Theodore Sturgeon (1945)
* Animal Farm by George Orwell (1946)
* The Man Who Sold the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein (1951)
* A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1954)

1968–1980|

* Riders of the Purple Wage by Philip José Farmer / Weyr Search by Anne McCaffrey (1968)
* Nightwings by Robert Silverberg (1969)
* Ship of Shadows by Fritz Leiber (1970)
* Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber (1971)
* The Queen of Air and Darkness by Poul Anderson (1972)
* The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin (1973)
* The Girl Who Was Plugged In by James Tiptree Jr. (1974)
* A Song for Lya by George R. R. Martin (1975)
* Home Is the Hangman by Roger Zelazny (1976)
* By Any Other Name by Spider Robinson / Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree Jr. (1977)
* Stardance by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson (1978)
* The Persistence of Vision by John Varley (1979)
* Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear (1980)

1981–1990|

* Lost Dorsai by Gordon R. Dickson (1981)
* The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson (1982)
* Souls by Joanna Russ (1983)
* Cascade Point by Timothy Zahn (1984)
* Press Enter by John Varley (1985)
* 24 Views of Mt. Fuji, by Hokusai by Roger Zelazny (1986)
* Gilgamesh in the Outback by Robert Silverberg (1987)
* Eye for Eye by Orson Scott Card (1988)
* The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis (1989)
* The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold (1990)

1991–2000|

* The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman (1991)
* Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress (1992)
* Barnacle Bill the Spacer by Lucius Shepard (1993)
* Down in the Bottomlands by Harry Turtledove (1994)
* Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick (1995)
* The Death of Captain Future by Allen Steele (1996)
* Blood of the Dragon by George R. R. Martin (1997)
* ...Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen Steele (1998)
* Oceanic by Greg Egan (1999)
* The Winds of Marble Arch by Connie Willis (2000)

2001–2010|

* The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson (2001)
* Fast Times at Fairmont High by Vernor Vinge (2002)
* Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2003)
* The Cookie Monster by Vernor Vinge (2004)
* The Concrete Jungle by Charles Stross (2005)
* Inside Job by Connie Willis (2006)
* A Billion Eves by Robert Reed (2007)
* All Seated on the Ground by Connie Willis (2008)
* The Erdmann Nexus by Nancy Kress (2009)
* Palimpsest by Charles Stross (2010)

2011–2020|

* The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (2011)
* The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson (2012)
* The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson (2013)
* Equoid by Charles Stross (2014)
* (No award given) (2015)
* Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (2016)
* Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (2017)
* All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2018)
* Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (2019)
* This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (2020)

2021–present|

* The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo (2021)
* A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers (2022)
* Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire (2023)
* Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Locus Award for Best Novella

1970|

* The Gold at the Starbow's End by Frederik Pohl (1973)
* The Death of Doctor Island by Gene Wolfe (1974)
* Born with the Dead by Robert Silverberg (1975)
* The Storms of Windhaven by Lisa Tuttle and George R.R. Martin (1976)
* The Samurai and the Willows by Michael Bishop (1977)
* Stardance by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson (1978)
* The Persistence of Vision by John Varley (1979)

1980s|

* Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear (1980)
* Nightflyers by George R. R. Martin (1981)
* Blue Champagne by John Varley (1982)
* Souls by Joanna Russ (1983)
* Her Habilene Husband by Michael Bishop (1984)
* Press Enter by John Varley (1985)
* The Only Neat Thing To Do by James Tiptree Jr. (1986)
* R&R by Lucius Shepard (1987)
* The Secret Sharer by Robert Silverberg (1988)
* The Scalehunter's Beautiful Daughter by Lucius Shepard (1989)

1990s|

* The Father of Stones by Lucius Shepard (1990)
* A Short, Sharp Shock by Kim Stanley Robinson (1991)
* The Gallery of His Dreams by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (1992)
* Barnacle Bill the Spacer by Lucius Shepard (1993)
* Mefisto in Onyx by Harlan Ellison (1994)
* Forgiveness Day by Ursula K. Le Guin (1995)
* Remake by Connie Willis (1996)
* Bellwether by Connie Willis (1997)
* Where Angels Fear to Tread by Allen Steele (1998)
* Oceanic by Greg Egan (1999)

2000s|

* Orphans of the Helix by Dan Simmons (2000)
* Radiant Green Star by Lucius Shepard (2001)
* The Finder by Ursula K. Le Guin (2002)
* The Tain by China Miéville (2003)
* The Cookie Monster by Vernor Vinge (2004)
* Golden City Far by Gene Wolfe (2005)
* Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (2006)
* Missile Gap by Charles Stross (2007)
* After the Siege by Cory Doctorow (2008)
* Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link (2009)

2010s|

* The Women of Neill Gwynne's by Kage Baker (2010)
* The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang (2011)
* Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne M. Valente (2012)
* After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress (2013)
* Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente (2014)
* Yesterday's Kin by Nancy Kress (2015)
* Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds (2016)
* Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (2017)
* All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2018)
* Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (2019)

2020s|

* This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar (2020)
* Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (2021)
* Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (2022)
* A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (2023)
* Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher (2024)

* Best Novel (1971–1981)
* Best SF Novel (1980–present)
* Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present)
* Best First Novel (1981–present)
* Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
* Best Young Adult Book (2003–present)
* Best Novella (1973–present)
* Best Novelette (1975–present)
* Best Short Story (1971–present)

* v
* t
* e

Nebula Award for Best Novella

1966–1980|

* The Saliva Tree by Brian W. Aldiss and He Who Shapes by Roger Zelazny (1966)
* The Last Castle by Jack Vance (1967)
* Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock (1968)
* Dragonrider by Anne McCaffrey (1969)
* A Boy and His Dog by Harlan Ellison (1970)
* Ill Met in Lankhmar by Fritz Leiber (1971)
* The Missing Man by Katherine Maclean (1972)
* A Meeting with Medusa by Arthur C. Clarke (1973)
* The Death of Doctor Island by Gene Wolfe (1974)
* Born with the Dead by Robert Silverberg (1975)
* Home Is the Hangman by Roger Zelazny (1976)
* Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree Jr. (1977)
* Stardance by Spider Robinson and Jeanne Robinson (1978)
* The Persistence of Vision by John Varley (1979)
* Enemy Mine by Barry B. Longyear (1980)

1981–2000|

* Unicorn Tapestry by Suzy McKee Charnas (1981)
* The Saturn Game by Poul Anderson (1982)
* Another Orphan by John Kessel (1983)
* Hardfought by Greg Bear (1984)
* Press Enter by John Varley (1985)
* Sailing to Byzantium by Robert Silverberg (1986)
* R&R by Lucius Shepard (1987)
* The Blind Geometer by Kim Stanley Robinson (1988)
* The Last of the Winnebagos by Connie Willis (1989)
* The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold (1990)
* The Hemingway Hoax by Joe Haldeman (1991)
* Beggars in Spain by Nancy Kress (1992)
* City of Truth by James Morrow (1993)
* The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady (1994)
* Seven Views of Olduvai Gorge by Mike Resnick (1995)
* Last Summer at Mars Hill by Elizabeth Hand (1996)
* Da Vinci Rising by Jack Dann (1997)
* Abandon in Place by Jerry Oltion (1998)
* Reading the Bones by Sheila Finch (1999)
* Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang (2000)

2001–2020|

* Goddesses by Linda Nagata (2001)
* The Ultimate Earth by Jack Williamson (2002)
* Bronte's Egg by Richard Chwedyk (2003)
* Coraline by Neil Gaiman (2004)
* The Green Leopard Plague by Walter Jon Williams (2005)
* Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (2006)
* Burn by James Patrick Kelly (2007)
* Fountain of Age by Nancy Kress (2008)
* The Spacetime Pool by Catherine Asaro (2009)
* The Women of Nell Gwynne's by Kage Baker (2010)
* The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window by Rachel Swirsky (2011)
* The Man Who Bridged the Mist by Kij Johnson (2012)
* After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress (2013)
* The Weight of the Sunrise by Vylar Kaftan (2014)
* Yesterday's Kin by Nancy Kress (2015)
* Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (2016)
* Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (2017)
* All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2018)
* The Tea Master and the Detective by Aliette de Bodard (2019)
* This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (2020)

2021–present|

* Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (2021)
* And What Can We Offer You Tonight by Premee Mohamed (2022)
* Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk (2023)
* Linghun by Ai Jiang (2024)

This article about a short story (or stories) published in the 1970s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template