Miller, Burroughs, Pynchon

[davemarc]

At 11:41 AM 5/29/96 EST, you wrote:
>I always liked Pynchon as compared to Burroughs or Miller (and their ilk) 
>in that Pynchon's work though grim seems to imbue every character (even 
>Them) with some kind of care or compassion.(which  translates as the 
>reader will care)  This is missing IMHO from Burroughs and Miller (Tropic 
>of Cancer I thought was infantile snobby and mean.  

[snip]

Miller would've been the first to admit that he was hardly a saint yet it
would be a mistake to think that his writings are missing care and
compassion.  Much of his work (but particularly the stories "Max and the
White Phagocytes" and "A Devil in Paradise") is actually concerned with the
nature (and reality) of compassion.  Friendship is a major theme.  There are
also many, many real-life and literary instances of Miller encouraging
struggling writers--sometimes monetarily when he was far from financially
secure.   

Always merry and bright,

davemarc