Mixed nuts (was Re: Review in New Yorker)

[still lookin 4 the face i had b4 the world was made]

On Tue, 13 May 1997, Meg Larson wrote:
> A friend gave me a copy of Lane's review, and I agree w/ Paul's statement
> above, with one exception:  the way he begins his review.  [...] "Pynchon
> nuts, who in the league of nuts are outstripped only by
> Kennedy-assassination wonks, will therefore suffer a brutal shock when
> they discover that the fifth, and latest, Pynchon novel, _Mason & Dixon_,
> really is about Mason and Dixon"  (Lane, 97). 
> 
> I don't know about the rest of you nuts, but I knew that the novel was
> really about M&D.  The insult--comparing us to Kennedy-ass. nuts-- aside,
> it is one of the best reviews I've read so far.  I hope you get your copy
> soon, Max. 

Thanx!  It was waiting for me yesterday, actually.  I like it as well.
I do agree with your criticism.  Many reviewers seem to bash "Pynchon nuts"
or "Pynchon fans" in this way.  But I think their caricatures are mistaken,
and in fact their understanding of Pynchon is flawed.  His books do contain
certain elaborate jokes, games, etc.  But that's not the essence of what
makes them so great.  His books are not "puzzles" to be "figured out"...they
do not fall open to understanding when one riddles out the cabalistic "key"
to it all.  Rather, he hints that there may be a conspiracy...or there may
be more than one...or there may not be any.  Ultimately, the question is
a mystery, as open as the ending of _COL49_.

Perhaps a very few Pynheads somewhere are trying to "figure out" his books.
If so, they will never  succeed.  I just settle back and enjoy the ride.

Max

P.S.  I have noted this contrast among fans of _Twin Peaks_...i.e., some
are trying to "figure out" the show, others just enjoying the surreality of
the experience.  As in TRP's work, David Lynch has certain riddles and games
that may be  deciphered, but there is no one ultimate mystery to be
elucidated.  The lesser puzzles are in a way a blind...they may suggest a
Great Mystery at the heart of the work, but if so, that mystery is forever
unsolvable.  And such mysteries are the only ones that retain their power.

M a x i m u s  D a v i d  C l a r k e | fire
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