Mr. Weierman's post

[Craig G. Bleakley]

I wanted to respond to Joel Weierman, not because I think he's wrong, but
becasue I'd like to persuade him to slug it out with Pynchon just a bit
longer.  After all, you say you're simultaneously reading two of his books
(I'm amazed you can even type with that kind of sensory overload), there
must be something to it.

I'm probably most curious as to the specific problems you're encountering in
finding this reading pleasuareable.  Your message implies a contrast between
Pynchon's work and an "easy" but rewarding book like "The Liar's Club."  I'm
sure there's something to this claim.  I wonder if the question isn't one of
what sorts of rewards one hopes to get from a book, and how much one is
willing to invest to get that reward.       

The sorts of books you're labeling both easy and rewarding can frequently be
summed up in a moral; you can boil them down that narrowly.  One of the nice
things about an expansive novel like GR or [insert your favorite long novel
here] is that they create the space to explore an entire philosophical
framework.  As such, much of the action of a book like this has to bear a
greater burden of being "symbolic of something," but this is a difference of
degree rather than kind.  Certainly Kerr in "The Liar's Club" has shaped and
selected her material so that it too is symbolic.  Or maybe it's that these
easily rewarding texts reward us with ideas about people rather than ideas
about ideas.  It's probably an eaiser writing task to engage a reader in the
concerns of realistically developed characters than in fantastically
developed ideas.  

So, is the more difficult task the more rewarding one?  Most folks wouldn't
be here if they didn't find Pynchon one of the most rewarding writers ever.
Period.  Yes, it can be hard work to read him, but I think GR, for example,
rewards exponentially.  And I'd enumerate some of those rewards, but that
still wouldn't make them *your* rewards.

Maybe my big question is : what are you hoping to get out of Pynchon, and
why doesn't that seem to be happening?  I won't try to cure you, honest, but
a reminder of the obstacles to enjoying Pynchon might be a thoughful
addition to our current M&D love-fest.  I don't know much about that book
yet, but I'm told it has a nice cover.

Craig Bleakley