Dying public

[MalignD at aol.com]

<<Except that this time your criticisms of M&D seem to be maligning the very
witticism you demonstrated by your choice of screen name, back then, when
the book first came out, and you joined the fun- a breath of fresh air.>>

I though M&D was disappointing when first I read it, back when it came out.  
I said as much at the time.  

<<you are being unnecessarily defensive of Roth's work. It stands on its own 
and doesn't require such a defense->>

I was responding to him and Bellow being dismissed out of hand or, at least, 
understood that to be what was being expressed by Richard Romeo.  He has said 
since that he didn't intend quite such a dismissal.  

<<...and certainly not at Pynchon's expense.>>

As I said in an earlier post, I think the tendency toward Pynchon hagiography 
on this list hinders useful discussion.