red herrings

[Diana York Blaine]

How do we know McGuffins aren't McGuffins?  It seems a tad overdetermined
to say the quest in a quest novel isn't fundamental to the plot simply
because it lacks conventional closure or isn't apparently grounded in any
traditional sense. V. and Lot 49 seem to be riffs on our need to work
towards order (obviously), so how can we say that work is tangential to
the novel's structure or import?  The impossibility of order that
both texts suggest resonates because of the narrative function of the
quest.  And besides, I don't think they're about the impossibility of
order, but no damn snow fell last night so I've actually got to go
and teach now. Bye!   -Diana