First Couple-Three Pages: 6/11 - ATDTDA (11): 296 - 326 --The Deep Read:

[kelber at mindspring.com]

The vast conspiracy of Them, the military-industrial complex, in GR devolves into the relatively easy to counter, personalized conspirator Scarsdale Vibe, and the general control that Chance and Chaos exert over our lives.  Neither is as gripping as the Them of GR:  Scarsdale's just one man, Chance and Chaos are forces we can't and shouldn't be able to counter.  The M-I Complex presents us not just with paranoia, but the nagging guilt that we ought to be doing something about it.

Laura

-----Original Message-----
>From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>

>
>I would argue that like Vineland, many of the concerns of the three
>brothers, e.g., are pretty worldly as a whole, even Kit's search for
>Shambala--they are reacting, in their mind,  to their father's death, Lake's
>treachery, Vibe's insidious grasp. this is movement away from the heavy
>paranoia and dread of the earlier novels (not totally absent mind you in AtD
>or M&D) but the vibe (hehe) is surely more grounded.
>I would argue this is a positive development for Pynchon as a writer. it's
>more of a change in vibe than in any characterizations per se.
>
>rich
>
>rich