Lurkers, Awake!

[Cal McInvale]

>Okay, I'll bite.  What is the connection between TRP and Rushdie?

Lessee if I can get this right:

Back in the late 70s/early 80s, a number of authors who hailed form the
former British colonies (like India, Pakistan, parts of Africa, Australia,
New Zealand) began achieving some minor recognition. They more or less
constitued there own "genre" of writing: non-native writers who write in
English. Many of them were associated with the so-called "magical
realists;" some of them evern looked to these established writers as role
models. As it rose to prominence in the universities, "Post-modernism"
became a major philosophical influence on these authors, many of whome were
graduate students or instructors.

With the publication of Gravity's Rainbow in 1973, Pynchon had become the
major "po-mo" author in the American literary scene, which more or less
dominated the whole of Western lit at the time. Burgeoning "3rd world"
artists such as Rushdie saw Pynchon as a sort of lighthouse by which to
steer their ships. His flawless merging of multiple voices, literary
techniques, themes and language fit in rather well with the patchwork world
these authors sought to convey.

As for direct ties between Pynchon & Rushdie: Pynchon wrote a positive
blurb about The Satanic verses in one of those books about Rushdie (I
believe it was the one where several authors give comments about the book,
called something like "Defending Rushdie" & maybe put out by PEN America).
Rushdie reviewed Vineland for the NYT Book Review & praised Pynchon. In
interviews, Rushdie has called Pynchon the most important writer since WWII
(or words to that effect).

On a less than factual note, I've heard that Pynchon's favorite Rushdie
novel is Midnight's Children. This comes from a young Indian novelist who
knows Rushdie, but is just a rumor (like damn near everything else
associated with Ole Tom).


cal
mexico at worlds.net
-------------------
Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were in
Congress - but I repeat myself.
                                 -- Mark Twain