ATD sighting

[Tore Rye Andersen]

>Date: Tue, 24 Oct 2006 14:18:44 +0900
>From: Tofuman <slowdrop at gmail.com>
>Subject: ATD sighting
>
>A photo, opening scene, section listing...
>
>
>http://www.complete-review.com/saloon/archive/200610c.htm#uh9
>

Holy shit! Holy, holy shit! It's here! A-and it's one big and beautiful 
book. So AtD isn't a "drop-everything event"? Hell, I dropped everything, 
including my jaw, my Breeches and my BVDs, just by seeing this photo of the 
finished book.

Some thoughts: Iceland Spar is a form of calcite used for optical purposes, 
and one of its interesting features is that it causes double refraction. See 
the image on this link, and then compare it with the
cover of the novel:

http://geology.about.com/library/bl/images/blcalcite.htm

Quite similar, right? Of course the 'refraction' on the cover employs 
different typographies - the sans-serif characters sort of emerge out of the 
earlier serif font - but I'm pretty sure that the cover is meant to simulate 
the double/triple refraction caused by Iceland Spar. There is additional 
information about Iceland Spar in Wikipedia's article on calcite.

Bilocations: Apparently both a sort of visual effect which once again brings 
the cover to mind - see:

http://www.xexoxial.org/xexoxial/listings/dimichele.html

- and a sort of ghostly projection of a double - see:

http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/b/bilocation.html

This whole idea of refraction/doubling seems to be some kind of governing 
metaphor, and the idea of light seems to be very important as well - cf. the 
title of the novel as a possible reference to a photographic technique as 
well as the first four section headings - "The Light Over the Ranges" - 
beautiful!

As for the final section heading: Rue du Départ is apparently both an actual 
street in Paris - located in the 14th arrondissement and adjacent to Rue de 
l'Arrivée - and a film from the 80'es. This final section heading 
strengthens the impression that Pynchon is saying goodbye with this novel. 
He singles up all lines, ties the last knot -  and Damme, he's off!

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