Mr. Vidal's case

[Michel Ryckx]

Mr. Vidal has written some very able and clear essais on the French 'nouveau roman' and has been an advocate of Italo Calvino for years.  His point of view is that of a reader and not a scholar's. In 'Thomas Love Peacock: the Novel of Ideas', he says: '(...) what sort of novels are still read, voluntarily, by people who will not be graded on what they have read.' He gives the example of Mr. Fowles and Mr. Golding, fine authors, widely read but not taken seriously by the American Academe (December 4th, 1980).

One has to bear in mind that no matter what Mr. Vidal is writing about, his main theme is the Republic he loves and hates.  And: he's completely independent, can write and publish what he pleases.  Yes, I suppose he is very stubborn, but he can write admiringly about American politics -and books.  The main theme of 'American Plastic' is not the authors he speaks of, but the 'problem' that American universities -at least where literature is studied- tend to drift away from every day life (at least in 1974).

I have a (British) copy of his 'United States, Essays 1952-1992, originally published by Random House in 1993.  I suppose it must be found easily over there.

Something else:
Was it overlooked or was it just an uninteresting question when I asked what the function was of the italics used by mr. Pynchon? (esp. Mason & Dixon)

Michel Ryckx.