Character (WAS: COL49 - Chap 2: San Narciso as a circuit board)

[David Morris]

I don't want to descend into a "does to/does not" exchange.  Just that
his masterpiece, GR, shows "themes, symbols, and abstract unifying
agents" in multiple layers abounding there.  They don't emerge from a
story, but they do mesh seamlessly with it, and it never feels forced.
 But then it never was a realistic story to begin with.  The story in
GR is Slothrop's journey from London to the Zone with glimpses into
his forgotten infancy.  The abstractions in GR are obviously (to me)
things  Pynchon has been ruminating upon and making connections
between for a long time.  GR is really COL49 on steroids, but more.

I don't know if you've read GR.  Was it you that put it down because
it offended you feminist sensibilities?  If so, you should get past
that  and give a thorough read (actually more than one read is
required).  It is his ultimate work, and illustrates the heart of his
literary strategies.

David Morris

On Fri, May 15, 2009 at 11:23 AM,  <kelber at mindspring.com> wrote:
> His books don't give the impression that he's started with a theme, but, rather that themes (sometimes too many) emerged along the way after the initial inspiration gave him a character or premise to start from.  I still believe it's plausible that Varo's paintings were that inspiration for COL49 -- the emotions they produced guiding him towards subconscious themes which became more explicit as he wrote on.
>
> Laura