Mindless Pleasures

[James W. Horton]

On Mon, 14 Nov 1994, Marshall Joseph Armintor wrote:

> Thanks to all who responded to my calls for help.
>   1) It's not a problem of whether or not I like the book or think it's worth
> it or that I simply find it TOO DIFFICULT.  Claiming that a book isn't worth 
> reading because it's hard is a copout.  There's only one narrative voice, 
> really, and readers can get used to anything.  Hell, _JR_ loosens up after
> 200 pages or so.  If you get used to Gaddis, the sky's the limit.

	The subject of narrative voice is very interesting in GR.  I 
think there is definitely more than one narrative voice in the novel, and 
the fact that they can't really be resolved into one is one of the 
things that has made GR so difficult to do an ideological reading of.  I 
can't think offhand of a text where it would be harder to piece together 
an implied author.  In saying this, I don't mean to adopt a postmodern 
"Isn't-it-fun-that-we-are-absolutely-ignorant-about-absolutely-everything-gosh
-look-at-the-aporia, Dad" attitude.  Sheer bloody mystery can't be surpassed 
sometimes, but this novel is actually very mimetic in its confusion and 
overwhelming of the reader--thus, pleasing to both those of a 
metaphysical and those of a materialist bent, as long as each makes 
concessions to the other side.

mindlessly under the rainbow,

jim