AtD,AtD.AtDRe: Boomer myopia

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Bad news, MalignD, it's time to get a grip on reality here. There are two themes in all of Pynchon's books that nearly overwhelm the other themes: Anarchy and the Occult., those hopelessly outmoded ultra-sixties concepts. Read AtD and weep. I used little post-it multi-colored flags to identify themes in "Against the Day", using purple for occult/spiritual high weirdness and green for anarchy (pink for anything that smelled of the muted posthorn, yellow for humor or music, blue for science, dark blue for weird science that borders on the occult and red for poetry and sometimes blood). I ran out of green tags. Purple is the first runner up. I should have used more red tags, but the notion came to me rather late in my first reading and I will on my next run through the book. Anarchy is the big theme of Against the Day, with spiritual, sexual and scientific anarchy mere sub-sets to the overall theme of anarchy. The first big scene in Pynchon's first big book---V---is "Suck Hour" at the
 Sailor's grave, an anarchic explosion of various forms of bad behavior. COL49 concerns itself with an anarchist alternative to the federal postal system, what is "The Zone" if not a state of anarchy, who are 24fps if not anarchists, what was the state of our nation when first measured if not anarchy, why is the most intelligent review of "Against the Day" that I've encountered, the only one with a real grasp of the multiple themes and interweavings of "Against the Day", written by an anarchist?

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Nov06/Jacobs20.htm

Yes, on some level Pynchon is, was and shall evermore be a flaming freak. You got a problem with that?
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Will Layman <WillLayman at comcast.net>
> Tiring and self-indulgent may describe AtD (I don't know -- I haven't  
> gotten it yet), but I KNOW it describes MalignD's endless, grown- 
> upper-than-thou posts in which he pretentiously takes everyone to  
> task for not being more critical of Thomas Pynchon's writing.
> 
> Dude, we GET it.  You think this list puts Pynchon on a pedestal.   
> You are man enough to criticize his writing, whereas we are a group  
> of sickly sycophants who reflexively like him, warts and all.
> 
> How juvenile the silly songs are!  Those goofy names -- c'mon!   
> Enough with the talking animals and the mysticism!  Check, check,  
> check, Malign.
> 
> If we start ragging on the book, will you do us the favor of coming  
> to its rescue?
> 
> -- Will
> 
> On Nov 20, 2006, at 5:55 PM, MalignD at aol.com wrote:
> 
> > << If so, maybe they should try another writer. May I suggest Tom  
> > Wolfe? >>
> >
> > What's your point?  Wolfe's not Pynchon, Wolfe's grown  
> > conservative.  Are you
> > saying that's the only alternative?
>