Irish Times Review

[David Morris]

I guess we have widely divergent opinions here.  You seem to have a
problem with anyone who doesn't think AtD is a "success."  The review
is fairly correct in calling AtD  an "immense, if less than epic
cartoon."  And right after that description she elaborates with a
phrase with a beginning you hate, "Pynchon may or may not regard
himself as a seer, but his sense of humour has tended to come to his
rescue, and that of his readers. And at no time has he ever needed his
comic vision and lightness of touch - his prose, as ever, tap-dances
along - as much as he does here."  You may not be aware of it, but
years ago a beloved long-standing female contributor the the P-list
used to regularly call Pynchon a "practicing mystic."  So some people
take his cryptic musings quite seriously.  And I think he does too,
but saves himself with the "just joking" stance.

This reviewer obviously thinks his wide-reaching musings/metaphors are
only rescued by his comic tone and deft prose.  She's entitled to
that.  I think her "less than epic" refers to his lack of serious
tone, so she seems also to have a problem with him being too comic.  I
really don't have a problem with that, and there may be great depths
hidden under that comic tone.  I just miss his occasional gravity a
bit.

David Morris

On 1/19/07, Carvill John <johncarvill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >I think this review is fairly accurate (though I've not yet finished
> >it - still I'm far enough along to have a feel for its overall tone).
>
> This review jumped straight into my Top 5 Bullshit ATD Reviews, no mean feat. It's almost as if it's been written as a prank, with the intention of getting something unequivocally wrong in every sentence.
>
> And where the hell are these several kitchen sinks in ATD? Musta missed them...