Solstice, etc.

[Craig G. Bleakley]

Gosh, my first foray onto the Pynchon list-serve!  I hope I have something
clever and witty to say.

Well, I don't, really.  I just want to fourth the solstice suggestion--one
of my favorite passages in the book.  Although perhaps we should take off
the gloves and dare to call it what I think it is: The Christmas section.  A
beautiful exploration of both the hope and the tragedy of Christianity.

I tend to read GR as a Christain tract of sorts.  I detect a direct line of
descent in the book from (not Christ but rather) the historical uses to
which Christ has been put and the development of rockets and their
progeny--"give me Christ or give me Hiroshima," as Leonard Cohen says (or
see Miklos Thanatz describing the V-2 as a baby Jesus).  Nuclear weapons are
the un-routinizeable charismatic object--unfortunately, unlike religious
leaders or founders.

The other big "Christianity" scenes , as you probably know, are the
conversion of the dodoes and William Slothrop's heretical tract.  All worth
re-perusing this time of the year, if you need an excuse.  Happy holidays,
all.  Craig B.