Rating ATD

[Robert Mahnke]

Inspired by Laura, these standings are current as of, uh, right now:

1. GR.  The member of the chorus you most want to hear solo.
2. COL49. A sip of port instead of a gulp of wine.
3. Vineland. A secret history of the last forty years.
4. M&D. An unruly, untamed continent of a book.
5. ATD. Asked about the historical effect of the 1789 French Revolution,
Chou En-lai replied: "Too soon to tell."
6. V. Too many struts and gears in plain view for me, but some expensive
Swiss watches are like that.
7. Slow Learner.  A scrappy effort, but if this were British soccer, it
would be relegated at the end of the season; it really doesn't have the
players to compete with the others.



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf
Of kelber at mindspring.com
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 4:07 PM
To: pynchon-l at waste.org
Subject: Rating ATD


The group read gave me a lot of new insights into ATD and made me appreciate
the book much more.  But it didn't alter my estimation of how it ranks with
TRP's other novels:

1. GR
2. V(the young Pynchon) tied with M&D (the mature Pynchon)
3. COL49
4. ATD
5. Vineland

Laura