ATD: Cyprian's departure

[bandwraith at aol.com]

"With no resources to express his feelings to Cyprian, Reef..."

So American, and one of the best lines in the novel. It sets
up Cyprian's final zinger:

"Or he'll take you below, you mean. Down to America."

It just speaks volumes- everything from the Hades parable
in Vineland, where the hell-dwellers finally retreat back to
the peace and quiet of hell, escaping L.A. traffic, to
Slothrop's inability to keep from ascending The Tree in
pursuit his zoot, and the demon who stole it- making
his fall inevitable.

I got the feeling that Pynchon no longer felt compelled
to "climb the tree" in ATD. He found the resources to
write the way he feels, unconcerned with critical reception,
and actually enjoy it.

It's not GR, but sex after sixty (seventy?) ain't the same-
thank god- as those times back in college, when you thought
you were so...whatever it was you thought you were.