Stone et al (z.B. Vonnegut, McCarthy)

[Richard Romeo]

Fair enough on that level, Kai but just speaking from my own anxious twinges of mortality
I can recognize the merits of a work of art, and I don't see myself reading touched by an angel kinda tripe.

I guess I do like a wee bit of humor thrown in with all the nastiness. I find myself less and less enthused by what appear to be much overwrought writing and ponderousness in cormac and in delillo, for example and in much of fiction written in the last 20 yrs. Re-reading the Recognitions recently, I realized there's a fair share of show-off-iness in the dialogue-less writing. (I think Gaddis thankfully jettisoned the digressiveness of this style in his later works)
Again, this is all personal opinion mind you.

We can be thankful I suppose that the Judge does not exist but I sure did love him years ago. (I'm younger than that now--last time I'll attempt to use that over-used Dylan quote)

I think I wrote a few years ago that I could see myself re-reading M&D in my old age more than GR--I believe it's an older and more mature work, literary merits aside and that dumb log cabin joke.

I would argue that at present, too many writers get consumed by details and lose the imaginative ingredients that all great writing has.

All over the place sincerely
rich







° Hallo Rich,

I like your poem. 

On the level of literature discussion, however,
I've got problems with your argument.

Isn't Art about Truth?

Was "Blood Meridian" written by Stephen King?

Doesn't it - like "Slaughterhouse 5" and "Gravity's Rainbow" -
shed a light on episodes of American history that do manifest
the real story and will probably soon be reloaded? 

Though me sees tired Robert Mitchum eyes and a lot of grey hair when 
I look into the mirror, I accept being called "young" here ... I mean, 
everybody is aging and so this here has become some kind of Pynchon 
senior center with visitors from younger cohorts to drop in now and
then ... (If you want debates on new popular music or actual questions
like the one whether DVD bonus tracks suck and if so why, you have to
lurk on Wallace-list where the populations's age structure is more
balanced.) While my children always tell me how very old I do appear,
here I will stay a kid until the end of days. Kinda cool. It's just 
that I don't believe my literature taste will change that much in the 
future. So it's probably not really about age. Otherwise the opinion 
that M&D is better than GR would find more advocates here ...
 
With "mucus rolled in paper tissues" I recommend "The Runaway Soul";     
but then I seem to be the only Brodkey reader in the house.


Yours, Kai