The flattened American landscape of minor writers

[Carvill John]

>> Why do these slavering articles on Updike (and Roth) in the English
>> press always discount, in fact often fail entirely to mention, Pynchon?

>Because they're not about him? And he's not dead yet?
>David Gentle
 
 
Deep, deep sigh.
 
Assuming you're not just being rude, but are genuinely missing my point, I'll explain one more time what I meant. When the press - and I am talking mainly about the English press, because even factoring in teh internet, living in England you tend to read teh English press most, and yeah I know the McEwan article wasn't in teh English press but he is an English writer - when the press run an article on one of the Big Beasts of post-war American literature, be they alive or dead, they tend to mention that particular writer's 'peers' or 'contemporaries', yeah? So, for instance, a Roth profile will tend to mention Updike, Bellow, etc. But they often omit Pynchon.

Here's an example of what I had in mind, from the English press, recently (well, late last year):
 
'The story of my lives'
by Robert McCrum
The Observer, 21 September 2008
 
"From Portnoy's Complaint to American Pastoral, Philip Roth's jostling alter egos have provided the literary world with some of the great masterpieces of the past half-century. Here, as he celebrates his 75th birthday, the novelist talks to Robert McCrum about losing friends, living alone and why the next book will be his last"
 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/21/philiproth.fiction
 
This article mentions Norman Mailer, JD Salinger, Updike, Saul Bellow, etc. But not Pynchon.
 
 

Here's another Guardian article, the title says it all really:
 
'Updike was good, but Roth is the greatest'
 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2009/feb/03/updike-roth-books
 
 

Here's another Roth profile, form the Independent, which mentions Updike and Bellow, but not Pynchon:
 
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/philip-roth-america-the-dutiful-926481.html
 

See the pattern? Ok so my point really was that I'm often frustrated to see these other writers (great though they are) mentioned but Pynchon ignored. That's all. Not any kind of big contenhtious argument being put forward, just a little jocular 'Updike Schmupdike! What about Thomas Pynchon?'. 
 
 
 

 
 
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