DFW on NPR

[Tom Stanton]

At 10:01 AM 5/20/97 -0400, Paul York wrote:
>Just wondering if anyone else heard DFW on NPR (I think it was on 
>Weekend Edition).  Among other things, he did mention the fact the he 
>wasn't too big on comparisons made between his writing and that of an 
>individual he refers to as the "P guy."  He futher elaborated by stating 
>that, while he liked Pynchon's work when he was younger, he was no 
>longer very fond of it.  He seemed to be implying (I'm paraphrasing from 
>memory here, so this may not be completely accurate) that he felt his 
>own work concerned itself more with the human element than Pynchon's.

If I were an up-and-coming 36 year-old novelist I would certainly put
a little distance between myself & the highly acclaimed "P guy" to whom
I am endlessly compared. No surprise there.

>[snip]...reading of Pynchon's works holds a different sort of appeal for me.
> I do find them immensely enjoyable to read, but I've found that the real 
>pleasure with reading Pynchon comes from not approaching the reading 
>as an occasional experience (which is how I read most novels) but as 
>an ongoing hobby

My wife thinks my Pynchon studies are more of an obsession than a
hobby, but you've hit it on the head IMHO. I have also approached
Joyce in much the same way, as an intricate puzzle or design that
I can spend hours studying for the pure enjoyment of it. In my mispent
youth Faulkner provided much the same pleasure overall, but in the
end I grew weary of him.