Getting Gravity's Rainbow

[Gillies, Lindsay]

On Wed, 21 Feb 1996, Gillies, Lindsay wrote:
> It is also why many people have a hard time with particularly GR (although 

> the whole approach is just as prevalent in V)---you must essentially 
submit
> to being harangued by the author for 800+ pages before you can "connect".
P. replies:
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it seems to me this assertion
needs clarification. It sounds like: as you are drawing to the end
of the book, you will at last make some "connection" about what the book
is all about.
 ----------------------------
Sorry, I wasn't clear.  I meant that once you surrendered to the author's 
voice, you could then connect---might be from page 1.  You probably won't 
get past the initial dream sequence, however, unless you *do* give over to 
TRP's compulsively elaborating talk.  More traditional modes of fiction 
require the reader to (at least) interact "socially" with rounded 
characters, to allow those characters into your own space---this is easy, 
even for recluses.  GR and V particularly involve allowing this hopped-up 
cerebral-rap motormouth right into your face...even though the most 
fascinating stuff can be "realized" if you are able to cope with this mode, 
not everyone wants to...
Thanks for clarifying...