Mason and Dixon

[Paul Mackin]

On Mon, 18 Oct 1999, Dangermouse wrote:

> To all,
> 	I am embarking on a thesis paper concering Mason and Dixon. I want
> to use the novel as a example of a novel that defends the narrative form
> against corruption from computer technologies, the internet and eventual
> cyber-narratives. So, the idea is a little rough and convoluted, but I do
> believe TRP has some of the latest technologies in his mind as he writes
> this opus. My query is thus: if you know of any excellent reviews or
> essays on the text, please let me know. Or suture self. Best,

If you need a Devil's Advocate (always a good idea as old Holy Mother
Church knows so well) look at James Wood's "Thomas Pynchon and the Problem
of Allegory," which Terrance has mentioned several times.  Says both kind
and unkind things about the book. Thinks P writes beautifully but that 
beatiful writing isn't enough to make a novel great. As the title of
the piece indicates Wood doesn't like a lot of meaning in novels. Seems to
consider P's political ideas a bit ordinary. Furthermore says M and D's
"blotterlike receptivity to every bloodstain of American capitalism
seems a little convenient, artistically. They might be freeer as
characters if Pynchon allowed them to put up some resistance to Pynchon's 
view of things. But that would be fiction, not allegory." Wood hated the
Washington/Gershom episode. 

What ya gonna do???

			P.