pynchon-l-digest V2 #4336

[Mark Wright AIA]

Howdy

> Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 22:46:03 +0100
> From: Paul Taylor <neon.taylor at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: maps in V. and Vineland?
> 
> Anybody's thoughts on the actual usefulness of: "Gravity's Rainbow"
Companion: Sources and Contexts for Pynchon's Novel   Steven
Weisenburger

When I read GR in the mid 1970's I brought a certain amount of basic
knowledge to the table. WWII wasn't ancient history, back then.  I'd
read a lot about WWII, I knew something about the way the war economy
worked in the US and Germany, I knew the history of the V2 rocket
program. I'd read Malcolm X and watched Hogan's Heroes. I was part of a
whole culture that Pynchon was writing in and for. GR engaged a lot I
already knew and rearranged it into new, useful and entertaining
patterns.

WWII is ancient history now. The whole cold-war seems like ancient
history. I'm not sure that younger readers come to the book with the
data set that we had back then. I surmise that Weisenberger's book is
useful chiefly as a glossary, and may help to keep the faint of heart
from abandoning GR. Personally, I bought Weisenberger during my third
or fourth read as a way of spicing it up.

Mark

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com