SLSL Intro "It is only fair to warn ..."

[jbor]

The argument below is quite a flimsy one, considering that after this
introduction to his "Introduction" Pynchon then elaborates on the specific
"tiresome passages" and "problems" which he perceives in each one of the
early stories, now that he has reread them, in some detail. On the whole, as
MalignD has already said, Pynchon's self-criticisms here are pretty apt, and
they are presented with obvious sincerity and candour.

best


on 2/11/02 8:23 PM, Michel Ryckx at michel.ryckx at freebel.net wrote:

> "It is only fair to warn even the most kindly disposed of readers that
> there are some mighty tiresome passages here, juvenile and delinquent
> too. At the same time, my best hope is that, pretentious, goofy and
> ill-considered as they get now and then, these stories will still be of
> use with all their flaws intact, as illustrative of typical problems in
> entry-level fiction, and cautionary about some practices which younger
> writers might prefer to avoid." (SL, "Intro," p. 4)
> 
> By using rather heavy words  ('mighty tiresome', 'juvenile and
> delinquent' -nice wording by the way),  we may overlook the word 'some'
> in the same phrase.  It is one of the many stylistical devices mr.
> Pynchon uses: he distracts our attention from a certain word -in this
> case: some- and then goes on, in this case, concentrating on the flaws
> in the stories and offering us a way to read these stories: as a lesson
> in bad writing.  We are invited to look at the flaws in his early work.
> In the very first phrase, he's already manipulating us, as every great
> writer does.  The form is an 'Introduction'; we are not  to expect a
> piece of fiction.
> 
> One of the many questions, raised by this Introduction -we do not have
> to provide an answer; we've got all the time we need- is:
> 
> Should we consider this introduction as a piece of fiction?
>