VLVL (6) Pynchon's parables

[Mike Weaver]

Terrance:
>Do you like VL, Mike? Sounds to me like you don't like the book. It's
>not a history book. It's not a political book. It's a fairy tale.

I could tell you the way I deal with blocked ears, but I'm sure you've got 
your own.

A thing about fairy tales is they have their roots in human realities and 
the thing about Pynchon's novels is that their roots are in the realities 
of US society, history, politics, culture etc etc. They can be examined and 
enjoyed in many different ways.

>In the US, people of the Left have a hard time comprehending the nature
>of American
>Conservatism. They tend to perceive it not as an intellectual movement
>worthy of intellectual respect but as merely a front for greed and
>self-indulgence.

 From where I'm looking, from outside the US, American Conservatism appears 
like the mutant offspring of isolated small town values, trying to control 
the world to ensure its own well being.

>That's pretty much what we get in VL....he doesn't give
>his conservatives a single thought.

Why should he? Despite all that Rob and yourself say, he's not sitting on 
the fence, and his main concern is to look long and hard at the failings of 
his own side.
If you feel so much for the American Conservative perhaps you could help 
their cause by writing your own critique of their weaknesses.

>Why preach to the converted?

More like getting the attention of the converted.

Given the ability of succeeding generations to ignore their history and 
repeat old mistakes I'd hardly describe that aspect of VL as preaching to 
the converted. Remember all you've said before in this area - 'he's a 
novelist, not a polemicist/historian/politico...' You now seem to be 
criticising him on those grounds. Those comments referring to the 
destructive actions of US governments are the strongest evidence of P's 
sympathies, and ensure that those of us who feel the same way pay attention 
to his take on the subject.