Vineland

[Michael Bailey]

Vineland is a masterful commentary on the American scene, and on life

Everything is in there, all arranged and arrayed to lead a reader into
greater awareness.  Frenesi's susceptibility to the charm of fascism
aligns with the human tendency to excuse abusers...

so it isn't hate that I end up feeling for her, but a complex of
emotions having to do with regret and wonder (like, I wonder how she
could hook up with Flash, I wonder why she couldn't easily resist
Brock Vond, I wonder why Zoyd can't surmount the deficiencies of the
hippie persona to win her back - he obviously has skills)

It's probably the Laura Bush in me ("why should I fill my beautiful
mind with thoughts of body bags" or whatever) but the absence of
extended scenes of war and colonialism, and the abatement of (what I
see as) the relentless harping on non-standard and oftentimes painful
sex/love relations in GR and V, make Vineland a much more enjoyable
read.


On 3/1/06, jd <wescac at gmail.com> wrote:
> So I'm finally getting around to reading Vineland, about 40 pages away
> from the end.
>
> What do you all think about this book?  I've heard a lot of people
> badmouth it...  it's certainly no Gravity's Rainbow but my opinion is
> that it isn't a bad book.  I hate Frenesi so far.
>
> I need to take on M&D soon, it's the only one of his that I won't have
> read after I finish this book.  However I really, really am having the
> urge to read GR again even though I've already read it many a time.
> This can not fly.  I have a lot on my shelf I haven't read yet, but I
> don't know if I'll be able to hold off.
>
>


--
"Acceptance, forgiveness, love - now that's a philosophy of life!"
-Woody Allen, as Broadway Danny Rose