Powers and Pynchon

[Jhildt at aol.com]

   Can't comment on Vollman (yet) but read Power's _Galetea 2.2_ about six
weeks ago and thought it remarkable.  All blurbs point to Pynchon (on RP's
books) but I'm having the darndest time articulating why, although they share
a dense sytle and a penchant for dexterous word-play, essentially they're
quite different.  
   Try this:  Powers, in his play with words, is basically "open," he wants
you to get it, while TP's web is occluded, you get what you get, or don't.
 E.g. Near the start of G2.2 the narrator (RP, in fact - who uses initials as
abreviations for many proper nouns in the book including the University,
otherwise unnamed, where much of the story is set) says, in describing why he
felt drawn back to the campus, "In fact, I had nowhere else to go.  I
couldn't even improvise a fallback.  It had to be U."
   Now that's sneaky, funny, but right up front.  Very Powers, but less so
Pynchon.
   Can anyone put a collective e-mail finger on what makes these two
wonderful writers similar, yet different?

   Happy long, holiday weekend to all.     
                                                                    J.