IVIV (1)

[Dave Monroe]

On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 9:51 PM, rich<richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:

> Some say harsh satire but I don't really feel much of an edge to the
> goings on in IV ...

[...]

> in a word, IV feels "unnecessary"
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 7:44 PM, <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
>
>> Sad to say, I agree with most of this.  Still, I'm willing to spend time listening to other's opinions and teasing out what's worthwhile in the book.  Got nothing better to do.

I look at it this way: I wonder why Pynchon does--or, at any rate,
writes, God know what he does--anything that he does.  VL, M&D and AtD
rarely if ever had the nigh unto nonstop "what could possibly have
provoked that?" moments the Lot 49 and GR still and likely will always
hold for me (and V. has Vheissu, V. "herself" and its ending, if
nothing else, though, of course, there's plenty else), but I'm still
intensely curious about them (the L.E.D., the Jesuits, The Chums of
Chance, Mr. Ace, and has Rebekah Mason indeed become a cat by novel's
end, and why?  The workings of VL seems rather more transparent, but
that's perhaps for good reason, Their workings having become more
blatant, so ...).  I will admot, I'm mostly curious as to why Pynchon
wrote/published this one in the first place, but ... but there an
awful lot of tantalizing clues (red herrings, no doubt Mr. T., will
claim, without shedding much if any further light, however, on the
matter) about the earlier books therein, to the point that I think it
may be being offered as, if not a key, a clue (or, of course,
possibly, one of those aforementioned fish) ...

I didn't hate it, I'm not even sure if was disappointed or not, but,
as I've mentioned before, it lacked the poetry, the mystery, not to
mention the anxiety, even, of, esp., the first three novels for me ...

Meanwhile, speaking of clues/keys/transparencies, here's to hoping Mr.
T., and even, perhaps, Robt., will continue to clarify what I've been
taking as their dual Nietzchean assault on received (they would argue,
i think, desired) wisdom  in re; Pynchon's preterite, who I THINK
they've been reading all these yarin as pointed exemplars of Friedrich
N.'s posited "slave mentality."  Less mercy, they say, not more, they
say Pynchon sez, our liberally bleeding hearts be damned, but ...

--a possibly realted question: how do y'all think John Kennedy Toole
felt about/acted toward Ignatius J. Reilly?

... but while I of course disagree, i also can't help but allow for at
least a certain equivocation on Pynchon's part.  The wuestion then is,
have perhaps T. 'n' R.perceived Pynchon's purpose, or have they
instead uncovered a Pynchonian (political or otherwise) unconscious?
Either/or?  Both/and?  Let me know.  But I suspect many if not all the
answers involved are gonna involve, which side are you on?  There are
those who THINK they're, if not above/outside of it all, at least more
so than most.  The way yr avg Ayn Rand fan figures, she's talking to
THEM, rather than ABOUT them ...

The Comic Book Guy as Nietzschean and/or Objectivist, perhaps ...