Jim Knipfel and Pynchon's blurbs

[joeallonby]

on 5/27/03 1:33 PM, The Great Quail at quail at libyrinth.com wrote:

> Joe writes,
> 
>> I've always thought that COL49 has had a
>> bigger cultural impact than GR; it seems to turn up more in popular culture.
>> Maybe because it's a little more accessible and the underlying secret
>> society/conspiracy/lurking evil thing has a universal appeal in the age of
>> paranoia.
> 
> Heh heh... A "little" more accessible.... But I totally agree with you. In
> fact, I am struck by how many books I've read recently seem to echo COL49 --
> William Gibson's "Pattern Recognition," Jim Knipfel's "The Buzzing," and
> D.B. Weiss' "Lucky Wander Boy." And I just finished a fantasy novella called
> "Dradin in Love" by Jeff VanderMeer that has more than a little "V."
> 
> --Quail
> 
Right, you are, sir.  I'm just finishing up "Pattern Recognition" now. I
feel a little bit tainted because after I recognized the parallels to COL49
(and brought them up to this list) I read several interviews/reviews where
Gibson directly referenced Lot 49.  I haven't finished the book yet ( I will
within the hour) but I already feel that Gibson copped out by revealing the
twins instead of leaving it hanging the way that Pynchon did. In COL49, we
are never sure if Oedipa is on to something or a victim of apophenia. Gibson
seems to answer the question, and I'm disappointed in him for doing so
already.

Maybe I'm jumping the gun because I still have another fifty pages or so to
go. Maybe I'll post a retraction tomorrow.

I would love to open a discussion of the hidden cultural repercussions of
COL49. It's my favorite of the Pynchon books.

Peace,
Joe