Lethem Interview

[Richard Romeo]

Hi all-I think Lethem's argument here spells out exactly what's wrong
(unbeknownst to him) with the current so-called successors to DeLillo
and Pynchon:

 

JPZ: So one of the challenges today is finding ways to combine and
reconfigure the literary approaches of the past. 

JL: And that's where DeLillo's influence is particularly important
because he showed that it was possible to straddle the two main strains
of writing before my generation came along. He manages to reconcile both
the playfulness and plasticity of the writers who were famous in the
'60s for fabulation - such as (John) Barth, (Donald) Barthelme and
(Thomas) Pynchon - with the slightly cooler in temperature and more
meticulous observational writing of (Richard) Ford, (Ann) Beattie and
(Raymond) Carver that was fashionable in the '80s. This reconciling of
different movements is compelling.

http://www.modbee.com/24hour/entertainment/books/news/story/1733554p-955
7521c.html

 

compelling but can't think of a younger writer who has successfully
pulled it off (IMHO)

 

p.s. Plot Against America is currently 2nd on my reading list after Sy
Hersh's Chain of Command

 

Richard 

 

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