Gore Vidal

[JBFRAME at aol.com]

I've always been an admirer of Vidal's social criticism, although he never 
seems to be able to shake his patrician origins (indeed, why should he?).  
I've tried to appreciate his fiction, which I've always considered somewhat 
"light weight."  Some of his novels I have liked, not so much for their 
literary value, but for what they say about the modern world.  The US history 
trilogy, _Julian_, _Messiah_, _Creation_, _Lincoln_-- all flawed works that 
have a great deal of value.  His essays are mostly spot on, gleaming jewels 
in the critical firmament!
This being said, I can't put him in the same league with Pynchon.  It's like 
comparing Melville to Stowe.

'Nuff said.

jbf