AtD and 9/11

[jd]

Of course it's not all that Pynchon has to offer... I've only been on
this list a few months so perhaps i haven't had the chance to be
overwhelmed by purely "current view" rants.

On 8/17/06, Keith McMullen <keithsz at mac.com> wrote:
> I'm not saying he is apolitical. I'm saying reading his remark as
> ironic is not the best reading. He may be saying that reading his
> fiction as relevant to the current day leads to a simplification of
> what he is creating. And, I am saying that the evidence of such
> readings on this list supports that. You ignored the bulk of my point
> and caricatured it. This list is dominated by the "apply his work to
> the current day" mentality. A review of what is going on outside this
> list in reading Pynchon, (e.g., the Pynchon Notes), is a hell of a
> lot more entertaining. Viewing his work as a commentary on current
> events limits the readings considerably. Of course it's not that they
> have no relevance, it's that focusing on that aspect makes the
> readings trivial. I'm suggesting he's exaggerating a point to open up
> the readership to a broader understanding. I don't worship the guy,
> but I do think he's a fucking genius. Getting into the inner workings
> of M&D blew my mind, and I'm not that crazy about the novel. If I had
> done so with the "current vents" view, I'd have missed some amazing
> stuff. And I do believe he's left wing. It seems obvious. But his
> fiction is so full of stuff beyond the political and the current
> events it's mind-boggling. Again. Show me one post to this list from
> the "current events" perspective that offers anything anyone with
> half a brain doesn't think already. If that's all Pynchon has to
> offer, who gives a shit. Most of us here already think those things
> without reading a goddamned novel to feel all validated.
>
> On Aug 16, 2006, at 9:56 PM, jd wrote:
>
> So, the whole blurb is pretty humorous / tongue in cheek and this one
> example isn't?
>
>