Eco vs Pynchon

[David Casseres]

>...I was very disappointed with` The
>Name of the Rose' not because I particularly disliked any of the
>components - murder mystery, historical detail, religious and
>philosophical overtones etc. - rather because I don't think they added
>up to a fully baked whole...
>
>I have only read Rushdie's `Midnight's Children' almost two decades
>ago the first time. I recently reread the opening 10 pages and was
>utterly wowed by the smoothness and elegance of the prose, the
>conceits which drive this opening scene, the careful delineation of
>character and context. On the strentgh of this passage he's a great
>writer. I'll have to read the whole book again when I get time and I'm
>certainly looking forward to reading his other works.

I fully agree.  My take on Eco is he's all brains and no guts, while 
Rushdie and Pynchon have both.  Also, Eco's prose, at least in 
translation, seems very flat to me.  Rushdie and Pynchon both write 
paragraphs that I'll go back and re-read just for the music.

Read The Satanic Verses if you like Midnight's Children.  In addition to 
giving you a great read, it will make you one of the Elect few who have 
actually read this book before passing judgment on it!

Cheers,
David