MAD Magician

[Mark A. Douglas]

> "Mark A. Douglas" wrote:
> >
> > ultimately, IMHO, Pychon is a writer of and about magic, and to my mind, a
> > 'pynchonian' novel would be magical.
>
> You mean to tell us that the *ultimate* in Pynchon is not politics or
> science or philosophy?
>
> Magic, you say?
>
Well, the answer is in the reading:  magic is the means, with politics and
science and philosophy as the ends, OR, politics or science or philosophy is the
means, and magic is the end.  I'm not at all sure it's a position I can defend,
but it is a preferred reading for me.

Pynchon's novels are fun reads to me, always allowing me to view the world in a
slightly different light.  Now, this new view doesn't necessarily occur because
I've learned something about physics, but mainly occurs because I've learned
something new about myself, or my world view.  And again, it's simply a simple
man's opinion, but I'd like to think that Pynchon is as interested in changing
his reader's life-views as he is in making a point about, say, the Holocaust, or
Vietnam, or the disillusioned 60's.  And I would agree to the argument that
sometimes he changes his reader's life-views specifically BY making points about
the Holocaust, Vietnam, the 60's.  But, ultimately, I prefer to think that
Pynchon (or any novelist for that matter, I just happen to think that Pynchon is
the most successful) is more concerned with the transformation in the reader
caused by the reading (be it through knowledge) than he is with the learning of
the reader.

And to me, that's magic.  I've found very few authors to possess this quality,
Rushdie sometimes, Heller sometimes, Sterne certainly, and I see many authors
striving towards it...read Helprin and you'll see what I mean, maybe...but none
as accomplished as Pynchon.

Just one guy's opinion.

Peace,
MAD
madness at airmail.net