Pynchon vs. Pynchon/bashing reviewers

[Andrew Pollock]

Of course the book is going to get compared to GR!  GR is a
masterpiece, and hung out there for more than 20 years before Pynchon
published a book that only the most charitable and critically myopic
could compare favorably to any of his previous work.  Were Pynchon the
type of novelist that Philip Roth is, one book might not stand out so
clearly from the rest, but then, we wouldn't have GR.

Also, this bashing of reviewers is unseemly.  No reviewer is going to
review the book in anything like the manner that it deserves, or that
members of this list desire.  This is a FAN LIST, the same as other
fan communities on the web, whether for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, My
Little Pony, or Harry Potter.  That's more than evidenced by the
rancor directed at folks who dare to suggest that Pynchon's novels,
this latest included, aren't a priori masterpieces.  It's ok to be
that way, but to pretend that the list is otherwise, and to exercise
that pretense by slagging reviewers (not critics) who "don't get
Pynchon" just because they prefer other writers, is an exercise in
group cohesion at the expense of seriousness.

I got ATD an hour ago, and I'm pleased as punch.

Best,
Andrew Pollock