Vineland

[EL-SHAIEB SHAHIR]

>I think *Vineland* is a fine, fun book.  I'm interested in what TRP has to 
>say, even when it doesn't conform to what my idea of what he ought to say. 
 
     
     >davemarc
     
     
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     You hit the nail on the mark.  Vineland is not only more full and rich 
     than many give it credit for, but it has the dubious distinction of 
     following three other novels that many people consider to be absolute 
     masterpieces.
     
     Yet it is possible to see Vineland not as entirely unique and 
     unrelated, but as another piece of the TRP puzzle.  If I had my copy 
     of V. at work with me, I could point out the luscious opening, wherein 
     TRP describes a man (I'm paraphrasing here) 'eyeing a plate glass 
     window, trying to figure out the best way to go through it.'
     
     Vineland is not a careless gesture the author made at the '60's 
     generation existing in the '80's, rather it is a text that 
     incorporates elements from Pynchon's past intricately into a literal 
     manifestation of the '80's.  What appears to be "all style, no 
     substance," is actually more subtly layered and accordingly more 
     substantive than it appears.
     
     The newness of that gesture of throwing one's self through a window in 
     the V. era gets "replaced" by the ritualized recycling of events in 
     Vineland, almost as if TRP is saying "I can give you the same things 
     as I did then, but it won't _be_ the same.  Even the cameras have 
     tired of the ritual; it's as if "our hero" is jumping through a hoop.  
     The plate glass has been replaced with stunt glass; the whole act has 
     been replaced by a shadow of itself.  A dark novel set in sunny, 
     optimistic 80's CA.
     
     I'll stop giving it away, too many people haven't read it.  Anyway, 
     that's only the first few pages.  It's definitely worth reading.
     
     Shahir El-Shaieb
     shahir.el-shaieb at centigram.com
     ______________________________
     "Say 'rich chocolatey goodness.'"