Steve Erickson--NP

[Sidhu, Ranbir]

I'm new on this list but thought I'd jump in on Erickson.

I just finished reading most of his novels and though I do love him--the
word "haunting" is definitely apt--he doesn't come close to Pync or DeLi for
my money (which isn't much). His most ambitious (and my favorite) is Arc
d'X, but in the end, all his novels follow pretty much the same path. I find
him an extraordianry storyteller, utterly gripping, and there's something
magical about the way the stories move from novel to novel, slowly
unfolding, refracting, deepening in each successive work. But ultimately, he
seems to be saying much the same thing in each one, and much of what he says
seems to be a serenade to his own hidden depths. At times, when I'm reading
him, I feel like a voyeur listening in on a conversation the various parts
of himself are having--those hidden rooms he talks about. I'd compare him to
Henry Miller or Hemingway, both of whom found a single form and subject and
mined it to increasingly less reward over their writing lives.

And no, I wouldn't call him pretentious. He's reaching, but never quite
makes it. But there's a lot to admire in that.

rs

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Romeo [mailto:richardromeo at hotmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, June 15, 2000 12:08 PM
To: pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Steve Erickson--NP


Hi all--

What's the general consensus about Steve Erickson?  Has he progressed as 
novelist all that much from Days Between Stations to his latest.  I'm 
curious about the moniker "the heir to Pynchon and DeLillo" that's attached 
to his name.

I just finished Days and not sure if it's prententious or haunting.
Rich

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