authors influenced by Pynchon

[Tore Rye Andersen]

>From: pynchonoid <pynchonoid at yahoo.com>

>Hard to believe this topic used to cause a such a big
>deal when it came up, but that's not my intent - I'm
>wondering which novels, written since Pynchon's work
>has been published, show the heaviest Pynchon
>influence, and which, if any, seem particularly
>successful as works of art.  I'm on a book-buying
>binge.

A book-buying binge.... I guess that, like me, you're trying to compensate 
for the AtD-shaped hole in your life, right?
Anyway, a couple of recommendations for you:

Lawrence Norfolk: Lemprière's Dictionary - probably the most pynchonesque 
(pynchonoid?) of the bunch: meticulously researched, zany humor, lots of 
paranoia, interested in systems and historical processes, deals with science 
and technology (Vaucanson of M&D-fame has a guest appearance as a mad old 
robot), with multinational companies and the abuse of power (with the East 
India Company standing in for IG Farben). The novel is obviously influenced 
by Pynchon - and includes some explicit allusions to him - but also has a 
voice of its own. Highly recommended (as is his second novel, The Pope's 
Rhinoceros) - but get the British edition!

David Foster Wallace: Infinite Jest - I know some P-listers actively hate 
this novel, but IMO Wallace more than any other American writer is a worthy 
successor to Pynchon, and even though he devotes a lot of energy to escape 
from the long shadow of Pynchon, he has obviously been very much influenced 
by him. For a new generation of writers, Infinite Jest has come to replace 
Gravity's Rainbow as the novel you have to deal with in one way or another, 
whether you like it or not. Anyway, I agree with Gerald Howard's assessment 
from the Pynchon essay in Book Forum: "David Foster Wallace may be the only 
certifiable genius in American fiction besides Pynchon".

William Vollmann: You Bright and Risen Angels - Reads like an extended 
version of part IV of GR, The Counterforce.

William Gibson: Pattern Recognition - Seems closely modeled on The Crying of 
Lot 49. Gibson has never hidden his admiration for Pynchon and his novels 
include several references to the Master. In addition to its Pynchonesque 
elements (the heroine stumbles on a vast conspiracy (or is it only in her 
imagination?) and discovers and participates in alternative communication 
networks) this novel deals with the latest marketing and branding strategies 
- including viral marketing - and thus it should be right up your alley, 
Doug.

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