ATDTDA (9): Nemesis, 243-248

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

These all have been great postings, Paul, redirecting the group towards the 
more "literary" aspects of Pynchon---I'm on page 148 (145) of Gravity's 
Rainbow, a prose poem that has been going on now for 10 pages, beautiful, 
dense stuff. There's such a high level of cross reference in these passages 
of the Chums in Venice, a great mythical city. Your postings have been a 
great help in getting a little footing on some pretty rocky terrain.
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: Paul Nightingale <isreading at btinternet.com>

This opening section of Ch20 will recall aspects of
 previous Chumstuff. There is the conflict between
Lindsay and Darby; and “the ambiguous smell of molten
glass rising from the vomitoria beneath them” recalls
the descent to Chicago in Ch2 (“... the smell found
them, the smell and the uproar of flesh learning its
mortality”, 10). There, descent over the Stockyards
introduced a darker tone, undermining the enthusiasm
of the initial take-off. Here, we see juxtaposed “an
impression of ruin and sorrow” to “a million
roof-tiles of a somewhat more optimistic red” 
(243). . . .