Had to think

[mikebailey at speakeasy.net]

> ... I mean,
> there is again a talking dog! And this time he is so very very learned that
> he can even read whole novels. Except for Kafka's parables, I really hate
> talking animals in books for grown-ups. One of the reasons why I could never
> finish certain later books of Grass. Wisecritter chitchat of rats, flounders
> and whatnot all. It's silly.

I have at one time felt the same way about all
magical realism. I found it annoying.

_One Hundred Years of Solitude_ changed my mind 
about that to some extent.  

There are some references in David Abrams' book
"The Spell of the Sensuous" to communication with
the non-human world - birdsong insinuating itself into
human speech and so forth.  He's this guy who went
among aborigines making a living as a magician;
has a lot of interesting points.

In defense of Pugnax's presence, I think Pynchon is
pulling out all the stops in AtD...


In contrary to this, "Vineland"'s Desmond is
> alright. Behaves like a real dog, fulfills --- by getting the blue jays in
> the end --- a working narrative function: The people and their stories (with
> the remarkable exception of Brock Vond) are taken back to earth again.
>

yes, Vineland is more streamlined, isn't it?
Love that book...
but AtD is starting to get exciting to me