MMV: Context

[Otto]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jbor" <jbor at bigpond.com>
To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2004 12:26 AM
Subject: Re: MMV: Context


> >>>> There's a reason it was left out of Slow Learner.
>
> Yes, and it's a brain-numbingly perverse argument which speculates that
> Pynchon left it out of _Slow Learner_ -- and that he doesn't even mention
it
> in the 'Intro' even though he does mention his connection with Baxter
> Hathaway, who published it -- because he (i.e. Pynchon) believes it's a
good
> story.
>
> best
>

This still leaves the question open why this story is so much worse than for
example "The Small Rain." I disagree that his use of references here is
"ostentatious and often gratuitous" and I also disagree that it "suffers
from precisely the same
pretentiousness that it satirises in the shape of the partygoers (...)."
There are no arguments given for this opinion.

Fact is we have no information at all why it is left out, so everything
about this point is speculation, and we cannot take the mere fact that it's
been left out to conclude that he thought it's so bad that including it in
SL would damage his reputation. What harm would have been done if it had
been included?

Otto