Master of Petersburg

[Richard Ryan]

It seems to me that one of Coetzee's persistent themes is just the interiority or subjectivity you describe Lawrence  - and the extent to which acknowledging that internal reality, especially in the face of oppression and social convention, - is the process that defines us.  It's also a theme of Dostoevsky's - hence the rather obvious affiliation.

Perhaps the most frequent criticism of TRP - it's certainly Wood's criticism - is that his characters lack that interior reality.

--- On Fri, 8/15/08, Lawrence Bryan <lebryan at speakeasy.net> wrote:
From: Lawrence Bryan <lebryan at speakeasy.net>
Subject: Re: Master of Petersburg
To: "Richard Ryan" <richardryannyc at yahoo.com>
Cc: "P-list" <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Date: Friday, August 15, 2008, 4:46 PM


Sounds good to me, but I'm intimidated by the erudition shown by so many list members; a bit like an amateur violinist invited to play with the Julliard Quartet. So I'd prefer to listen/read.
I'm not sure why I like Coetzee so much. On the other hand I'm not sure that it is important to me to answer that why. But if pressed, I suppose his approach to the human condition strikes an empathetic nerve within me on a very personal level. TRP is external, national, global, universal. Coetzee deeply inward. I like looking both ways, and the view is very satisfying either direction.  Lawrence
On Aug 15, 2008, at 12:27 PM, Richard Ryan wrote:
There were several list members who expressed enthusiasm for Coetzee's Master of Petersburg as a quick "NP" read before we start off with "V" or "Vineland."  I've begun reading it - and can report that it's beautifully written (as one would expect of JMC), and a vivid re-imagining of a great figure in the history of world literature.  Fun for the entire list, in other words....

If there is still sufficient interest - and no widespread objections - I can start off a MoP reading in a week or two - whenever the AtD readers feel that they've had ample time to wrap things up.  Conveniently, MoP is divided into twenty chapters - so if we had, say, four other hosts we could each take four chapters and get through the book in about four weeks (give or take a week or so depending on how interested and involved the audience was.)  
 
Thoughts?
RR

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