Vineland

[Bonnie Surfus (ENG)]

On Wed, 5 Jun 1996, David L. Pelovitz wrote:

> 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

Despite popular belief, I still find bright spots even in the early 
work--in GR, in particular, for its comments on the potential for 
violating laws of nature, which would seem "bad," but for that pesky 
Second Law of Thermodynamics.  He's worked with these possibilities fro  
years.  Only in VINELAND, he seems less concerned with the sci mechanics 
of possibilities for change--merely the human ones (prominent), among 
others.

Bonnie

> > >