eGad: Pynchon excerpt from new novel (fwd)

[David Kipen]

i just visited my friendly neighborhood bookstore, and their winter penguin
catalog shows no sign of the excerpt. their *fall* catalog is missing, but
it's been around for weeks, so surely we'd have heard something by now. in
other words, it's not in anything i think of as a traditional seasonal
penguin hardcover trade catalog.

having said that (and don't you love that expression?), the excerpt sounds
genuine to me. the provenance may be garbled, but the voiceprint is
familiar. a few giveaways:

"an antiquated Colt in whose use he was far from practiced"
-- note the telltale combination of understatement and prolixity, cf.
"[Farina] was in fact dismayingly successful with the wolf story, which he
was using then mainly to hustle coeds, often those on whom one had sort of
had one's own eye."

"The others had cleared a space which Willis and Jimmy now found themselves
alone at either end of"
-- note the gleeful willingness, nay, compulsion, to end a clause with a
preposition, cf. GR, "the soil's stringing of rings and chains in nets only
God can tell the meshes of"

just playing don foster here,
david kipen


On 8/3/06, the Robot Vegetable <veg at dvandva.org> wrote:
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> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2006 16:53:23 -0400
> From: Steven Moore <smoore3 at worldnet.att.net>
> Reply-To: gaddis-l at yahoogroups.com
> To: gaddis-l at yahoogroups.com
> Subject: eGad: Pynchon excerpt from new novel
>
> The new Penguin Press catalog has an excerpt from Pynchon's "Against the
> Day," which I thought I'd transcribe for you:
>
> Back in 1899, not long after the terrible cyclone that year which
> devastated the town, Young Willis Turnstone, freshly credentialed from the
> American School of Osteopathy, had set out westward from Kirksville,
> Missouri, with a small grip holding a change of personal linen, an extra
> shirt, a note of encouragement from Dr. A. T. Still, and an antiquated Colt
> in whose use he was far from practiced, arriving at length in Colorado,
> where one day riding across the Uncompahgre plateau he was set upon by a
> small band of pistoleros. "Hold it right there, Miss, let's have a look at
> what's in that attractive valise o'yours."
>    "Not much," said Willis.
>    "Hey, what's this? Packing some iron here! Well, well, never let it be
> said Jimmy Drop and his gang denied a tender soul a fair shake now, little
> lady, you just grab ahold of your great big pistol and we'll get to it,
> shall we." The others had cleared a space which Willis and Jimmy now found
> themselves alone at either end of, in classic throwdown posture. "Go on
> ahead, don't be shy, I'll give you ten seconds gratis, 'fore I draw.
> Promise." Too dazed to share entirely the gang's spirit of innocent fun,
> Willis slowly and inexpertly raised his revolver, trying to aim it as
> straight as a shaking pair of hands would allow. After a fair count of ten,
> true to his word and fast as a snake, Jimmy went for his own weapon, had it
> halfway up to working level before abruptly coming to a dead stop, frozen
> into an ungainly crouch. "Oh, pshaw!" the badman screamed, or words to that
> effect.
>    "Ay! Jefe, jefe," cried his lieutenant Alfonsito, "tell us it ain' your
> back again."
>    "Damned idiot, o' course it's my back. Oh mother of all misfortune--and
> worst than last time too."
>    "I can fix that," offered Willis.
>    "Beg your pardon, what in hell business of any got-damn pinkinroller'd
> this be, again?"
>    "I know how to loosen that up for you. Trust me, I'm an osteopath."
>    "It's O.K., we're open-minded, couple boys in the outfit are
> evangelicals, just watch where you're putting them lilywhites
> now--yaaagghh--I mean, huh?"
>    "Feel better?"
>    "Holy Toledo," straightening up, carefully but pain-free.
>    "Why, it's a miracle."
>    "Gracias a Dios!" screamed the dutiful Alfonsito.
>    "Obliged," Jimmy guessed, sliding his pistol back in its holster.
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