New Pynchon Novel Title to be Revealed Within the Next Week
Rcfchess at aol.com
Rcfchess at aol.com
Mon Jul 17 16:16:37 CDT 2006
In a message dated 07/17/2006 5:11:01 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
paul.mackin at verizon.net writes:
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.
Well said. Hear, hear!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/attachments/20060717/b9d810ba/attachment.html>
More information about the Pynchon-l
mailing list