The Great H oudini

[Bandwraith at aol.com]

Metempsychosis and time travel, indeed. Notions almost
as frivolous as, well, talking to a D-O-G. Rilly. Although Harry
might not be able to debunk _them_ quite so easily as he did
other scams of charlatans and crack-pots of his own day.

But the idea of an escape artist I find intriguing, and wonder
if P. didn't have Houdini at least partly in mind with the Great
H scene. Certainly dropping the fabulous DOG (of the fabulous
Jallows) into, until that point, a fairly linear tale within a tale,
represents a huge download of apparent authorial intent- something
the macaroni's and fops of criticism might easily be tempted to
leap on- "Got him at last, the wiley Pynch!" But of course, P. always
escapes. The fear of water also works, given the way
Houdini died, as does the metempsychosis connection, if it is
true that Houdini did make a pact with his wife that the first to
die should attempt contact with the spouse still alive. That aspect
would dovetail with Mason's dilemma.