FR online review

[David Casseres]

Well said, Charles.

On 1/19/07, Charles Albert <cfalbert at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> This said, I found the comparison between Pynchon's and Kleist's use of
> commas interesting.
>
>
> The labyrinthine use of nested clauses is a Pynchon standard. It is a
> technique borrowed from the likes of Bierce and O'Henry. It "obliges" an
> internal meter, which is why P. prose can sound so much like poetry. This is
> not a recent development for P., many passages in GR manifest the same
> quality.
>
> It also plays with the reader's sense of anticipation. As he/she works to
> get the syntax right, Pynchon levels these distracting shots of paralyzing
> humor. Effort/pay off, not necessarily in the manner anticipated. Check the
> opening sentence of Beirce's My Favorite Murder.....
>
>
> I'm also amused by the constant carping about Pynchon "undercutting the
> serious" by issuing profound observations from the mouths of characters with
> ridiculous names.....It is as if these critics just didn't "get" the dog
> days sequence in V. Drama and tragedy, are for the most part, indulgences -
> the world, history, are entirely without sympathy....It's damned near as
> idiotic as the demand that Pynchon observe the "classical" rules of
> narrative. Stories are merely components of a tableau, like the smiling fish
> seen in those huge 18th cent. italian canvasses of Venice.....you want
> beginning, middle and "resolution" - get thee some Grisham, or Clancy.....
>
>
> Most of the critics seem determined to "make their bones" by slagging AtD.
> I'm quite certain that had it preceded GR we would hear a totally different
> tune...
>
> Though I may be the least discriminating participant on this list, and
> only 400 pages in - I'm delighted with the book. As Rich suggested some time
> ago, it reflects a more "mature" author, whose tricks are marshaled in an
> increasingly efficient as well as effective manner. As a father of a
> daughter, I can empathize with Merle's desires as he sees Dally off on the
> train, "just one more day", and I find the interpersonal tarantellas
> convincing and poignant...
>
>
> love,
> cfa
>
>
>
>
> On 1/19/07, Thomas Eckhardt <thomas.eckhardt at uni-bonn.de> wrote:
> >
> > Mario first brought that review to our attention, albeit in a way that
> > drew Doug's ire.
> >
> > Müller-Sievers makes some interesting points, some of which I find
> > highly debatable. He argues, for example, that long-time Pynchon readers
> > are being turned away by an increasing "poeticization" of Pynchon's
> > prose style. Formerly, Müller-Sievers states, readers were able to
> > separate the arcane and politically risky information from the literary
> > form. From "M&D" onwards, he argues, form and content become more and
> > more inextricably entwined. He indeed hints at an interesting
> > development in Pynchon's writing there, I believe. But to suggest, in
> > effect, that the fascination e.g. "GR" still exerts lies exclusively in
> > the book's verifiable historical subjects and not in its prose style is
> > ridiculous. Pynchon could have written about Deutsch-Südwest and the V2
> > all he wanted, if "GR" wasn't the prose masterpiece it is, it would
> > still not be more than an interesting read.
> >
> > This said, I found the comparison between Pynchon's and Kleist's use of
> > commas interesting. I also wholeheartedy agree that "AtD", even if it
> > had no discernible point or unifying theme (Müller-Sievers says the
> > novel's theme is WW I, me, I haven't found out yet), would still be
> > "eternally justified" by the embarrassment of riches on every single
> > page. On the other hand, I assume, having reached page 200, that
> > Müller-Sievers' assessment of the novel as "utopian" underestimates its
> > dark undercurrents.
> >
> > Jim Jarmusch and Tom Waits are poor choices indeed. I like them, but for
> >
> > me their sensibilities don't seem to square with Pynchon's. The Scorsese
> > of "After Hours" and "Age of Innocence", ok. Michael Mann, no, although
> > I enjoy his work. Peter Greenaway, no, too abstract. Only the Knights of
> >
> > the Living Dead could do justice to Pynchon, i.e. a collaboration of
> > Billy Wilder and Stanley Kubrick.
> >
> > Thomas
> >
>
>
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