Wilde: Love and Death in Vineland USA

[jbor at bigpond.com]

'Love and Death in and around Vineland, U.S.A.' by Wilde, Alan
_boundary 2_ 18.2,  Summer 1991, pp. 166-170 	
	
A pretty interesting discussion of _Vineland_ in the context of 
Pynchon's other work. Wilde argues that it is the least effective of 
Pynchon's novels -- correctly imo. He accurately identifies the novel's 
attitude towards the '60s as ambivalent at best, and outlines the 
various ways in which the supposedly "happy" ending is undercut by 
Pynchon.

Excerpt:
"[...] Frenesi and Brock, devotees respectively of the camera and the 
gun, are the obverse and the reverse of the same coin. [...] In the 
novel's moral economy, Frenesi comes across as no better than Brock -- 
only, unfortunately for her, as less calculating and powerful." (p. 
169)

best