Master of Petersburg

[grladams at teleport.com]

TRP is external, national, 
global, universal.  - Lawrence 

I like that Lawrence
Hello all,
The only Dostoevsky I read was Brothers Karamazov, when I was in the 10th
grade. From what I remember, it gave me a certain paranoia that I first
ever felt. I have the hardback MOP book at my cubicle and have skimmed the
first few pages, it looks good and why is it there in the cubicle: get a
paperback at Powells (note to self)

Jill
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Richard Ryan richardryannyc at yahoo.com
Date: Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:21:59 -0700 (PDT)
To: lebryan at speakeasy.net, pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Re: Master of Petersburg


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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