New Pynchon Novel Title to be Revealed Within the Next Week

[Paul Mackin]

On Jul 17, 2006, at 2:41 PM, Ghetta Life wrote:

>
> Gravity's Rainbow was a very highly structured an unified novel.   
> It was wide-ranging and plumbed great depths, but all in the  
> service of unified themes.  Likewise V.  His best novels IMHO.
>
> Some might say MD was also thus disciplined, but I think it was  
> rambling and just a little too joky, toying with ideas related to V  
> & GR, but never with the same depth.  I'm fearing the new one might  
> be even less disciplined than MD.
>
> Ghetta

I think I know why  I like Gravity's Rainbow better than M&D and why  
I hope the new book will tend more toward the former.

M&D is a progress-through-life story. Life of two people and life of  
America. People set out to do something and for better or  worse they  
bring it off somehow. They end up with some satisfactions and some  
regrets.  The carrying out a plan, even though a plan often directed  
from above.  The progress may at limes be questionable. But there is  
direction. It is a novel of Doing. Not a bad thing of  course.

GR is a novel of Being.  Vividly living through the nightmare of  
existence, without particular regard to the importance and  
significance of Events--events mainly indecisive.  A main theme of  
the novel is the  War. A memorable passage asks, what does the  War  
want? A very existential question.  The story never focusses very  
hard on Winning the War. In fact, it doesn't really matter whether  
the war is won or lost. Would have been a distinction  without a  
difference. Yet all the while people experience the 20th century.   
Helplessly experience it. There are the Quests.  Quests that are  
quite futile.  Slothrop is as muddled at the end as in the   
beginning. More so. The Herero are not  saved. The pivotal rocket  
launch is only beautiful and final.

I am  hoping for a novel of Being.  Don't want answers. Don't want  
progress. Don't want hope. Just want to experience the  awful  
surface  of  reality, the way  only Pynchon can program it.