"crystal palace"

[Paul Mackin]

A book's being about it own writing as well as their own reading is very
appealling to me. For example, the narrator who for thousands of pages tells
himself and us that he can never become a writer is at the end tranformed
into Marcel Proust who he's of course been all the time.

            P.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Monroe" <davidmmonroe at yahoo.com>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Monday, May 07, 2001 1:13 AM
Subject: Re: "crystal palace"


> Somewhere in his Structuralist Poetics: Structuralism,
> Linguistics, and the Study of Literature (Ithaca:
> Cornell UP, 1975), Jonathan Culler remarks something
> to the effect that the easiest reading to make of a
> text is as it staging its own scene of reception.
> Which is not to say that that's a bad reading.  His
> example, for example, is the opening of Gustave
> Flaubert's Madame Bovary, and it's a pretty
> interesting reading thereof.  Comes up elsewhere in
> Culler and others, just don't ahve anything in
> particular handy.  Very good ...
>
>
> --- Paul Mackin <paul.mackin at verizon.net> wrote:
> > If  Thomas is right, THE JUDGEMENT FROM WHICH THERE
> > IS NO APPEAL is the
> > reception this book of such PROGRESSIVE KNOTTING
> > INTO must withstand from
> > the critics once in print and THE FINAL ARCH is
> > overhead, because there is
> > wil be no explaining or complaining from this
> > author.
> >
> >                   P.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Thomas Morrison"
> > <weneedabiggerboat at hotmail.com>
> > To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> > Sent: Sunday, May 06, 2001 10:07 AM
> > Subject: Re: "crystal palace"
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Historical references aside, couldn't it be that
> > P. is also metaphorically
> > > alluding to (describing) his own novel here? The
> > novel is a fragile thing
> > > that exists in a delicate balance, and is nearly
> > impossible to get a fix
> > on.
> > > Much like (I imagine) an actual crystal palace
> > would be, the thing looks
> > > different depending on where you stand, and even
> > the slightest shift can
> > > cause a distortion, or change in perspective.
> > Quite literally, it is
> > nearly
> > > impossible to focus on. Later on the page P.
> > mentions the "progressive
> > > knotting into"  that critics always latch onto to
> > conveniently describe
> > the
> > > novel. I see these images as a somewhat accurate
> > description of the novel
> > > ahead. And consider Prentice's fear as well: "he's
> > afraid of the way the
> > > glass will fall--soon--it will all be a spectacle
> > [...] But coming down in
> > > total blackout, without one glint of light, only
> > great invisible
> > crashing."
> > > Isn't this fear *our* fear in a way?  Trying to
> > make sense of this monster
> > > and it's elaborate structure, we fear that will
> > all soon come crashing
> > down
> > > around us and we will be left in total darkness.
> > Also, this opening image
> > is
> > > quite suggestive of the final image in the movie
> > house that never gets
> > fully
> > > played out. If the bomb were to actually hit,
> > wouldn't this be the result?
> > > It seems to me, more than anything else, the novel
> > itself is the "crystal
> > > palace."
> > >
> >
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