Wilde: Love and Death in Vineland USA

[jbor at bigpond.com]

Should have mentioned that a pdf of the essay is available.

best

> '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)
>