Pynchon's back catalogue

[John Bailey]

COL49, VL and IV are connected by the fact that they're about AMERICA
and what she's done to her children. M&D too, and AtD and V but these
latter in a more global context.

I'm sure non-US readers would agree that the American Trilogy, if you
want to call it that, could not have been written by someone who
wasn't deeply invested in and informed by the culture of the US.

The connecting characters are often very puzzling in P's novels. Apart
from the Bodines and the Traverses and perhaps Mucho Maas, my reaction
is usually "Hey - what the hell are *you* doing here?"

Although... who was it that suggested Pynchon's novels were romans a
clef? That his characters were based on real people he'd known? That
would explain a lot of the cameos.

On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 10:26 AM, Rob Jackson<jbor at bigpond.com> wrote:
> On 28/07/2009, at 10:06 AM, Dave Monroe wrote:
>
>> .. but while we're still playing this game, might I suggest taking
>> into consideration that, whilst the clan Bodine may be the red thread
>> that winds its way throughout that Pynchonian ouevre, it's been
>> pointed out by at least one reviewre or another that VL and IV in
>> particular share characters, also with Lot 49 (recall the reappearance
>> of Mucho Maas in VL, and do note there's yet another used car salesman
>> to go along with yet another mysterious real estate magnate in the new
>> novel), but, I now suspect (anyone care to confirm?  DO however issue
>> a spoiler alert, if so), perhaps also with AtD.  Does the Traverse
>> family traverse all these novels?  Is IV a 21st century Lot 49?  I
>> guess we'll all find out soon enough, so, no not necessary to
>> confirm/deny, just remember that, if I;m right, you heard it here
>> first (and if not, you then forget that instead) ...
>
> And there's that Cherrycoke connection from GR to M&D as well ... not to
> mention the Slothrop family history from TSI into GR ...
>
> best regards
>
>