Lineland as Pynchon Authority (redux)

[jester]

Yeah, I think Peter Giordano makes a good point:
"And it's so easy to provide facts if the person you're writing about does
not respond or lead a public life - The only reason the author of the book
in question can present "facts" about TRP and get attention is because
>this person had a vague association with TRP over 30 years ago - Imagine
Norman Mailer's reaction if somebody who lived downstairs from him
30 years ago decided to advertise himself or herself as a Mailer
expert."

This is the deciding factor, isn't it, for accepting the words of Jules and
Chrissie as "Gospel Truth" about TRP, isn't it?  (except that their
association does appear to have been more than passing, they seem to have
been more than casual acquantances -- especially in Chrissie's case!)  But
the question does remain... should we accept the idea that Pynchon may have
been somewhat of a Humbert Humbert, whether or not he's anti-Semitic, etc...
Jules' Playboy article has been readily accepted into the Pynchon "canon" as
fuel for scholarship.  I'm not sure if this automatically validates
Lineland, but that's not up to me.  The fact is, attention will be given to
Lineland because it DOES involve Pynchon, to some degree.  Jules goes to
great lengths to state that the book is NOT about Pynchon, that if you're
looking for material about Pynchon you won't find it in his book.  But the
book DOES revolve around the Pynchon mythos, and the Pynchon-l mailing list,
and in many instances there are discussions about Pynchon and comments made
about Pynchon and his writing, so I have to be fair and say that the book
has alot to do WITH Pynchon, even if it isn't about him.  Furthermore, the
book seems to be marketed toward the Pynchon "crowd."  The back flap reads
like some marvelous advertisement for  soap opera or trashy pop novel -- of
course the book doesn't deliver on this -- it's just used to attract, imho.
The backflap says that Lineland is a "new kind of book that's changing the
way people think about literature..." Well... I'm not sure about that.  It's
marginally postmodern in narrative structure -- nothing new.  The flap also
asks, "Is it a true-life novel? Personal journalism?  An uncanny hoax?"
These are valid questions, but I'm not sure they apply -- besides, what
exactly IS "personal journalism?"  I think the book sets out to accurately
portray the mailing list experience -- and it succeeds in that regard.  But
the book IS connected to Pynchon.  Without Pynchon, there'd be no book...
unless Jules had elected to revolve his project around the erotica mailing
list he mentions rather than our own.  In which case it probably would have
been far more interesting to the mass market... Now THERE's an idea!

I wish it were possible to separate Lineland from Pynchon.  I wish it were
possible to forget some of the things said about the author.  I wish it were
possible to call them fiction or wild assumptions or garbage.  You're
right... I wish Pynchon would respond to them... and who knows, he might.
Then again, he might just figure it all a lark, get a good chuckle and
ignore it.  I couldn't, but he's been quite his whole life...

JJ "Jester"