Voice

[Steelhead]

When I was in college, all those years ago, the thing that we used to get
stoned and talk about the most, at some outdoor pub off DuPont Circle, was
that nebulous and abstract quality called:  Voice. One of the biggest
differences between Pinecon and DeLillo is Voice; Pynchon's got one (even
in his most dashed off efforts), dozens, in fact, whereas DeLillo
writes--even in the novels, like Great Jones Street,that I most admire--in
a kind of droning monotone. Of course, voice isn't everything. If it were,
Tom Robbins might be considered a *real* writer.

Steely