lewis%spider.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (08/14/84)
From: lewis%spider.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Suford Lewis)
I tried to start V. and The Journal of Albion Moonlight and found both
to be full of pretentious, self-indulgent writing about silly, uninteresting
characters. They might have claimed to be looking for "MEANING" but they
were'nt looking very hard and they didn't really seem to want to find any.
However, since I couldn't finish either, and both were relatively early
works, perhaps someone can tell me why Pynchon is worth reading?
- Sufordreiher@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA (08/17/84)
From: Peter Reiher <reiher@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA>
Well, I don't know about you folks, but on the basis of "Gravity's
Rainbow", Thomas Pynchon is one of my favorite authors, up there with
Dickens, Joseph Conrad, and Mark Twain, and far beyond the range of
vision of Ellison and Silverberg. (Nabakov is a great writer, and I like many
of his works; I couldn't criticize someone who liked him more than Pynchon,
but I do have my own preferences.) Thomas Pynchon combines a weird world
view with an awe inspiring ability to write. Admittedly, his books are
not easy, and if you gave up on "Ulysses", you'll very likely give up
on Pynchon. (In fact, Pynchon reminds me more of Joyce than any other author,
even though he is far less interested in word games.) But where else can you
find banana breakfasts, the Kenosha Kid, Rocketman, an octopus with Pavlovian
training to attack a certain woman, a hilarious expose of the true nature of
English hard candies (including the dreaded Marmalade Surprise), a smuggler
who flies in cream pies via hot air balloon, and a hero whose sexual exploits
have a disturbing correlation with the places about to be destroyed by German
V2 rockets? Not to mention Rocket Limericks, some of the less obscene of
which have turned up in recent versions of UNIX's fortune program.
"The Crying of Lot 49" isn't anywhere near as good as "Gravity's
Rainbow", and parts of "V" are downright bad. But I haven't noticed any
of those dumping on Pynchon saying anything about "Gravity's Rainbow".
Perhaps they haven't read it. To give you an idea as to why I consider
Pynchon so special, I include a selection from "Gravity's Rainbow" which is
part of one of my favorite passages in all literature. Little background is
needed. The scene is WWII Britain, Christmas Eve. "The White Visitation" is
an insane asylum fronting for a research facility working on military
applications of paranormal activities.
"At "The White Visitation" there's a longtime schiz, you know, who believes
that *he* is World War II. He gets no newspapers, refuses to listen to the
wireless, but still, the day of the Normandy invasion somehow his temperature
shot up to 104 degrees. Now, as the pincers east and west continue their slow
reflex contraction, he speaks of darkness invading his mind, of an attrition of
self...The Rundstedt offensive perked him up, though, gave him a new lease on
life-"A beautiful Christmas gift", he confessed to the residents on the ward,
"it's the season of birth, of fresh beginnings." Whenever the rockets fall-
those which are audible- he smiles, turns out to pace the ward, tears about
to splash from the corners of his merry eyes, caught up in a ruddy high
tonicity that can't help cheering his fellow patients. His days are numbered.
He's to die on VE day. If not in fact the war, then he's its child surrogate,
living high for a certain term, but come the ceremonial day, look out. The
true king only dies a mock death. Remember. Any number of young men may be
selected to die in his place while the real king, foxy old bastard, goes on.
Will he show up under the Star, slyly genuflecting with the other kings as
this winter solstice draws on us? Bring to the serai gifts of tungsten,
cordite, high-octane? Will the child gaze up from his ground of golden straw
then, gaze into the eyes of the old king who bends long and unfurling overhead,
leans to proffer his gift, will the eyes meet, and what message, what possible
greeting or entente will flow between the king and the infant prince? Is the
baby smiling, or is it just gas? Which do you want it to be?"
Peter Reiher
reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
{...ihnp4,ucbvax,sdcrdcf}!ucla-cs!reiher