Vineland

[David L. Pelovitz]

On Wed, 5 Jun 1996, davemarc wrote:

> Vineland hardly strikes me as a decline; rather, I think it represents
> Pynchon's continued development as a writer.  Pynchon never wrote in one
> particular style; over the years he has told his tales, in fiction in
> non-fiction, using a variety of approaches.  I welcome Vineland, with its
> comparative lightness and brightness, as yet another expression of a vital
> creative personality.  

I feel somewhat similarly.  I do find it less "literary" and probably less
important than the other novels, but it serves some very useful purposes.
I've found many people who considered Pynchon unreadable until
Vineland came out.  I recommended it to many friends who went on
to try their hand with the others even if they had failed before.

>From a more critical perspective, Vineland can be read as a 
reasonably happy story.  When it came out, the critical rap
on TRP seemed to focus only on universal destruction.  
Vineland forces critics to account for this seeming bright
spot in TRP's universe (either by reading it pessimistically
or by rereading the earlier works with the possibility
of optimism).  That alone ought to make it essential.
	
David Pelovitz, Ph.D - dqp5805 at is4.nyu.edu