Repost:

[Mark Kohut]

I'm also going to agree, for stepping stone purposes at least, with the
relative merits of TRPs oeuvre. 

But, all the others are more worth reading than most writers' work....
AND, I would argue that he intended "Against the Day" to be, maybe, his big one..at least ANOTHER big one......his whole life's vision went into
"Against the Day", I say. Where else do his hints of the whole damn 'meaning of life' found in other books, particularly GR, come to fruition?...

Even V. And GR do not have the sweep and particularity of his whole vision of History, of "all that is the case'.


--- On Wed, 7/9/08, kelber at mindspring.com <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:

> From: kelber at mindspring.com <kelber at mindspring.com>
> Subject: Re: Repost:
> To: pynchon-l at waste.org
> Date: Wednesday, July 9, 2008, 3:46 PM
> I agree with your assessments of the relative merits of GR,
> M&D and ATD, although I don't agree that Pynchon
> should have just stopped after GR.  He's a writer, and
> writers write.  I suspect that ATD isn't the end,
> although it's unlikely that GR will ever remotely be
> matched.  What I'd personally like to see is a
> collection of personal essays in the vein of the intro to
> Slow Learner -- but I ain't holding my breath.  When
> the ATDTDA finally limps to a close, I think it would be
> fun to have a general discussion about the flaws and merits
> (and there are both) of the work as a whole.
> 
> Laura
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com>
> >Sent: Jul 9, 2008 3:12 PM
> >To: P-list <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> >Subject: Re: Repost: "The Big One"
> >
> >I suspect that you take magic/occult much more
> seriously that Pynchon
> >ever has.  Magic for you is like AF for Glenn.
> >
> >GR is and ever has been Pynchon's "Big
> One."  He might as well have
> >stopped there.  Everything since has been downhill. 
> For me, of the
> >last three, Mason & Dixon was the best.  Still no
> GR.
> >
> >David Morris
> >
> >- Show quoted text -
> >
> >On Wed, Jul 9, 2008 at 1:20 PM, 
> <robinlandseadel at comcast.net> wrote:
> >> Note the date.
> >>
> >> Didn't have a copy in my hands tll two weeks
> before release.
> >>
> >> Subject: The Big One
> >> Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2006
> >>
> >> Something I have yet to hear mentioned here: What
> if "Against the Day " turns out to be "The
> Big One",
> >
> >> the one that ties it all together? Here's my
> thoughts. The Occult elements of Pynchon always have been
> my focus. This just dawned on me: "Mason &
> Dixon" deals with the historical Mason/Dixon line
> between an age alchemical and an age scientific. Along with
> all those anachronisims and bad puns, there's
> tonne's of olde magicke and persuits alchemical. The
> historical range of "Against the Day" covers the
> early development of the Golden Dawn. This will tie this
> book much more tightly to the occult elements in
> "Gravity's Rainbow". "ATD" just
> might be "The Big One".