something, anything...

[David Morris]

Kyle,

It will take some work, but you could look over the archives of the last 
P-list V. group-read:

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0010&msg=49998&sort=date

I'm not sure about "sprawling" as a description of V., but I would say it's 
less mature than his works which followed.  I like V. better (or used to - 
it's been a long while) than COL49, but GR remains my favorite.  Which leads 
me to ask:  Which other Pynchon novels have you read?  His novels are seen 
by some as all contributing to one larger text.  Themes (and characters) 
span different books.

As for his animate/inanimate motif, I'd say it, like most of Pynchon's 
themes, is purposefully slippery in order to allow for all kinds of argument 
and dichotomy, maybe leading to a shaky unity.  Make sure to see the 
Hyperarts web site for a link to John Adam's discourse on the Virgin and the 
Dynamo.  This theme in V. is ultimately, imho, all about the prevailing 
spirituality/mythology of any given era inevitably manifesting its 
incarnation, V., and the animate/inanimate motif is about the greater 
"machine" of "modernity" (having maybe more to do with the 
question/reality/responsibility of personal volition), again finding its 
hieght in GR.

David Morris

>From: "Kyle Winkler" <taos_hum1 at hotmail.com>
>
>as i read V., i am left with much to sift thru....the whole 
>animate/inanimate motif....what is the heart of the matter here? is anyone 
>good at guiding along lost folks...it is a great book and i like it a lot, 
>but...what's he really trying to say...someone said this was his most 
>sprawling work....i am starting to see that now....any thoughts or comments 
>on this..i know some of you are doing M&D right now, but if you feel like 
>it....

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