Pynchon, Smith, McElroy, Auster

[Circ Staff]

	Has anyone read THE DEATH OF THE DETECTIVE by Mark Smith?  Like
GRAVITY'S RAINBOW, which preceded it by a year, Smith's novel deals with a
quester whose identity disintegrates -- among other things, of course. 
The same theme appears (less obviously) in HIND'S KIDNAP and LOOKOUT
CARTRIDGE by Joseph McElroy and, a decade later, in CITY OF GLASS by Paul
Auster. 
 	All of these writers were men, all American, all in their 
thirties at the time these novels were composed.  All of them 
started writing in the Sixties -- although Auster did not publish 
a novel until 1985.
 	Does this collection of coincidences seem significant, or should I go
home and get some sleep?

	Andrew Walser
        Arlington Heights, IL