reclusive pynchon

[Burns, Erik]

Foax:

Otto wrote:

>"Thomas Pynchon's House-Come On In" and nobody takes notice,
>while the "reclusive Pynchon" is the running gag of his career. Great!

Indeed, all of this is reminiscent of the scene in W.P. Kinsella's _Shoeless
Joe_ where the "kidnapped" J.D. Salinger pays for gas with his credit card
and, to his surprise, his autograph _isn't_ recognized by the clerk. Ol'
J.D. was, if I am remembering correctly (don't have book at hand), expecting
to be recognized and hounded as soon as he walked out his front door.

Of course, that's the fictional J.D., but anyway...

etb

p.s. also reminds me of a DeLillo comment in an Esquire interview around the
time _Libra_ was published, in which (after Esquire touted the interview as
"Reclusive Author Speaks Out For First Time Ever" or something) DD is asked
about his apparent withdrawal from society & the media spotlight &c and he
says something like "No one's ever really tried to talk to me before." (And
you would hardly call DD a recluse these days.)

FWIW, I don't really know if TRP is a recluse full-stop or just a "media
recluse." The definition "A person who withdraws from the world to live in
seclusion and often in solitude." doesn't really befit a person who lives in
NYC & has a wife & child. Just because he's publicly reclusive (i.e. no
interviews, no book tours, no 42nd St. Y, no cameras) doesn't necessarily
mean he's privately reclusive.