Preparing the IV

[Carvill, John]

Yep, the detective novel as Quest Narrative, and Pynchon's Quest
Narratives, not to mention all that Chandleresque Lew Basnight stuff in
ATD, made me wonder why the Penguin Press Release said IV found Pynchon
"working in an unaccustomed genre". Not unacusstomed at all... A-and,
that 'had pushed the vizor of his helmet back to be sociable' could
almost be a Pynchon quip.


		The main hallway of the Stemwood place was two stories
	high. Over the entrance doors, which would have let in a troop
of
	Indian elephants, there was a broad stained-glass panel
	showing a knight in dark armor rescuing a lady who was tied to
	a tree and didn't have any clothes on but some very long and
	convenient hair. The knight had pushed the vizor of his helmet
	back to be sociable, and he was fiddling with the knots on the
	ropes that tied the lady to the tree and not getting anywhere. I
	stood there and thought that if I lived in the house, I would
	sooner or later have to climb up there and help him. He didn't
	seem to be really trying.

	Raymond Chandler: "The Big Sleep"