IVIV IV & Playboy article

[Robin Landseadel]

On Nov 2, 2009, at 7:06 AM, Paul Mackin wrote:
> Robin, Robin . . . . Alice is only pointing out that spending a lot  
> of time noticing random Left noises comining out of Pynchon novels  
> (or most literary novels for that matter) is kind of a waste of  
> valuable time that could be better spend looking for the more  
> unexpected stuff.  It don't make her look like no reactionary to me.

O.K.—here's the deal: One can speak of greater complexity of left/ 
right issues in GR/M&D/AtD/VL. And it's true that "failure to grow  
up", to be realistic about means and ends and loci of power are issues  
that are all over Inherent Vice.

But I'm not tracking "random Left noises " in Inherent Vice—I'm noting  
how the CIA theme is central to Inherent Vice and how it relates to  
Pynchon's other books. And it seems like every single time I bring the  
subject up, Terrance attempts to blow it off as "obvious".  And it may  
well be obvious to Terrance. But I really doubt that the CIA material  
is all that obvious to other readers—initially it wasn't all that  
obvious for me. So I'll going to continue to mine that shaft. And  
Terrance is going to continue to bitch about it. I really don't  
understand his motives any more than I understand why he requires a  
nom de blog. But there you are.

> What's interesting is when an obvious person of the Left takes a  
> slight right turn once in a while for some reason or other. Like say  
> when Mailer back when publishing Harlot's Ghost said (extra- 
> textually) that America needed a CIA. (doesn't  mean he was right-- 
> the CIA is obviously the gang who couldn't shoot straight--can't  
> even torture useful information out of Al Qaida or anything)

I think there has always been some prescient awareness of unfolding  
news from Washington in Pynchon's novels—could there be a more perfect  
capstone to Watergate and the decline and fall of Richard Nixon than  
Gravity's Rainbow? Inherent Vice, with so much space devoted to CIA  
activities circa 1970 and the development of the Internet is tied to  
unfolding revelations of "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" that  
are leaking out  of Langley Virginia right now. While "Climate Change"— 
something the Lemuria material and Doc's acid trips points to—seems  
like a left/right issue, it's really a thermodynamic issue and not  
about to be wished away. It's an issue that very much ties into "The  
Golden Fang." Again, Terrance may think it's obvious, he may think  
that Hawthorne and Melville and "Native Son" are more important, but,  
uh, that's just his opinion.

Man.

> I must say I still enjoy your posts despite Alice's (well founded I  
> believe) criticism.  They have verve.
>
> P.

Thanks, "Verve", good word.