another sighting of rumo[u]r of new Pynchon book...

[jbor]

on 12/11/04 12:26 AM, Heikki Raudaskoski wrote

> As has been pointed out on the p-list already (I think),
> the rumors have found their way to Wikipedia too:
> 
> "It has been rumored that Pynchon's next book will be
> about the life and love stories of Sofia Kovalevskaya,
> whom he allegedly studied in Germany. The former German
> minister of culture has claimed that he assisted Pynchon i
> in his research. It has been noted that Kovalevsky's nom
> de plume "Tanya Raevsky" is suspiciously similar to "Wanda
> Tinasky".

Yes, that information has been around for about four years now, ever since
Michael Naumann visited the US and met with Pynchon and then revealed
details of the subject matter of Pynchon's new book in an interview on his
return to Germany (that's how I recall the course of events -- Thomas
Eckhardt provided the list with much of the info about what Naumann had to
say, I believe. I seriously doubt that Naumann or Pynchon made any
connection to "Wanda Tinasky", however.)

See, e.g.

Sein nächster Roman soll nach Informationen des ehemaligen Staatsministers
für Kultur und Medien, Dr. Michael Naumann, der Pynchon persönlich kennt,
von der russischen Mathematikerin Sonja Kowalewski handeln, die Anfang des
20. Jahrhunderts in Göttingen bei dem deutschen Mathematiker David Hilbert
studiert hat. Für die Recherchen befand Pynchon sich zeitweise in
Deutschland. 

http://www.uni-protokolle.de/Lexikon/Thomas_Pynchon.html

The info provided (again, via Naumann) in the French column last week that
Pynchon is in the process of editing is new, and it's the first notice that
I can recall which has been provided to the list that the new book is
imminent. Apart, that is, from what one might have inferred from the
Simpsons cameos. 

best