pynchon-l-digest V2 #1446

[Doug Millison]

Malign wondered, re my statement that in GR, Pynchon shatters pre-conceived
notions about how and why the Holocaust happened, "Whose 
pre-conceived notions, mightI ask, other than your own?  Are you 
suggesting the Pynchon's ideas and treatment of the subject are more 
authoritative than say, Primo Levi's or Elie Wiesel's?"

I've made no such suggestion, of course, nor would I.  Do you -- or 
anybody else -- think that "Pynchon's ideas and treatment of the 
subject are more authoritative than say, Primo Levi's or Elie 
Wiesel's?" Apples and oranges, I'd say.

I'm not aware that Levi or Wiesel have written novels in which 
multinational corporations are seen to profit from supplying both 
sides in WW II and from the Holocaust, or suggesting that from the 
Holocaust, and the rocket research, development and manufacture that 
the Holocaust made possible, springs the post-War missile program. If 
they have done so, please point me to the relevant references; I'll 
add those novels, if they exist, to the very long list of fictional 
works I'd like to read.

I know I'm not the first to point out here on Pynchon-L that GR could 
be seen as one of several novels, published in the late 60s/early 
'70s, that gave the Holocaust a more or less revisionist treatment, 
going against the grain of received notions. davemarc has posted on 
that subject at least a couple of times, if I remember correctly.

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