Pynchon's Quest Narratives ...

[Campbel Morgan]

I've mentioned this book a few times; It is, _The Art of the Mystery
Story_ edited with a comentary by Howard Haycraft. Some of the
articles and essays are online, such as, "A Defence of Detective
Stories"
http://chesterton.org/gkc/murderer/defence_d_stories.htm

A met some resistance from the Melville folks when I argued that a new
Melville was writing Moby-Dicks and Confidence Mans. That was a while
back, back when a lot of new and massive  Biographies of Herman
Melville were the talk on Ishmail, a Listserve out of Hofstra
University; Hershel Parker's Biography was met with applause and some
sinking resentments as he brushed aside so many specualtve schools and
their far-flung readings.  Of course, we do have Melville's reading
list; we know what he was reading as he wrestled with the whiteness of
the whale. We have manuscripts and letters and so on. I'd suggest the
Northwester Newberry Editions, they include editorial appendix with
historical notes and related documents. We can't know what Pynchon was
reading when he wrote GR, althoughn we certainly have a good idea,
thanks to the work of Weisenburger & others, bit I have no doubt that
Moby-Dick is the model. GR is a modern Moby-Dick. When I read V. I
knew that Pynchon had read deeply into Melville; when I saw the
Kilroy, I thought he may have dipped into Jaroslav Hasek's The Good
Soldier Svejk, but I don't know. M&D and AGTD are Pynchon's Confidence
Man novels.

The Etymology, The Extracts ...the Rocket-Text Quest.

Of course, Ishmael narrates the Comedy before he becomes one of the
crew at the theatre production of The Tradgedy of Blicero/Ahab, that
Shakespearen Tragedy and Black Arts Mania, inverted Catholic Mass
Stuff, but unlike Slothrop, he and his narrative return and the
Comedy/Satire with him. But in CM there is no coffin to float on.
Death has undone so many more. Melville was incensed by American
imperialism, slavery, the Exrtermination of the Indians and the
Culture. He tempered it in M-D, Tashtego is rescued after he falls
into the White Western Philosophical Head, by Q and at the end it is
his Red Arm that hammers the Socialist Flag to the Mast.

Two Catskill Eagles: Melville & Pynchon.

Speaking of birds, check out the crows on NPR.org