Pynchon mention re rock, paper, scissors game

[Paul Mackin]

On Tue, 2004-01-20 at 08:36, Terrance wrote:

> Rob, I'm confident I have not misconstrued Sale's critique of the
> Columbia debacle. 
> The students there were desperate and defiant, violent, polarized, and
> Sale agrees with the Conservative critics of the events and the tactics.
> Pynchon's ironic parody is a scathing satire.T

We shouldn't lose sight of the fact that ridiculing or satirizing SDS as
it stood at the end of the 60s would have been fiddling work for a
talented novelist--except as it might serve as an adjunct to what would
hopefully be some sort of Pynchonean literary breakthrough. (didnt quite
work out perhaps)

Things in SDS had gotten to the point where self parody was about the
only thing left for these privileged 20 year olds to strive toward. The
deluded souls actually were at the point of believing they were going to
overthrow the government and that fellow citizens who chose not to go
along with the gag had no particularly strong claim to life. 

Of course the SDS critique of society was not that dumb-headed I would
be the first to insist on.

By the way I just finished chapter 3 of the new LeCarre novel "Absolute
Friends." It contains a scathing satire of the 60s German New Left.
Don't know where the story is heading however.

P