Another M&D Review (pointer)

[Rick Vosper]

Thomas' comments about the starving dog made me think of another such-- the
one in GR who pulls the Mandrake Root from the ground and is killed instantly.

But if another country may be heard from on the Pekar review, I found it,
well, amusing. Shallow and nasty and self-serving and largely irrelevant
perhaps...but still amusing.

Of course, that's exactly how I feel about _American Splendor_ . 

One has to wonder to whom Pekar is addressing this stuff. Clearly not folks
like us, who read and enjoy Pynchon's stuff, or even the posseurs who see
him (Pynchon, not Pekar) as a PoMo status symbol. No, I suspect ol' Harv is
talking to people like hisself-- who may have tried dipping into the
admittedly forboding Pynchonian waters once and found themselves  hopping
right back out again, shivering uncontrollably and searching for a copy of
the latest Stephen King novel by which to warm their frost-bitten souls.

"The water's too deeeeep", whines Pekar. It's too cooooold". Therefore it's
not water, it's dreck.Y-Yeah, THAT'S why we find it impenetrable...

I suspect a lot of folks find this sort of analysis comforting. Other
Listers have noted the straw men tactics regarding jazz (a Pekar favorite)
and literature, but it's all of a piece.

The question left in my mind is whether Pekar himself actualy believes his
own cant, or if he's doing it cynically, looking for just the right choir
to preach to. In either case, he may be setting himself up as the Rush
Limbaugh of American letters.

Now there's a scary thought.

--rick



At 04:29 AM 6/16/97 PDT, you wrote:
>I would like to make naysty little sandwiches of the guy, put 'em on a 
>shelf in the sun until their spoiled rotten and then feed them to a 
>stray dog without a crumb for days; only, the dog will refuse them.
>P.S.: Is this guy for real? I mean, I haven't read such incompetent crap 
>in years; probably all my life!!!
>
>Thomas Vieth
>Down with Triolahidi
>Long live Hollerodullyo
>
>
>----Original Message Follows----
>Date:	Sat, 14 Jun 1997 22:07:09 +0600
>To:	pynchon-l at waste.org
>From:	Peter Petto <ppetto at apk.net>
>Subject: Another M&D Review (pointer)
>Harvey Pekar (American Splendor, Cleveland native) reviews Mason & Dixon 
>at:
>   http://www.auschron.com:80/current/books.pynchon.html
>Two thumbs down.
>Peter Petto		|  ppetto at apk.net
>Bay Village, OH		|  public key available
>
>
>
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