IVIV: Hughes & the Bomb

[Carvill, John]

<< Being as this is a  
book by Thomas Pynchon, it's going to have multiple levels of meaning,  >>

Yes, probably.

<< that's always been his M.O. so the chance of him switching gears this  
late in the game is ziltch. >>

Can't agree. Part of the puzzle of this book is determining to what extent Pynchon *has* changed gear. We can't be sure there *are* any hidden layers or meanings. We suspect so, but we can't be sure.

> I suggested there must be something autobiographical about Inherent  
Vice. 

Indisputably, or almost. The danger is that this can be over-stated. Naturally the most intriguing aspect is the connection between IV, Pynchon's residence in Manhattan Beach, and GR. There are large swathes of the narrative of IV, however, which *seem* to be largely concerned with a nice, gently humorous noir pastiche, plot complications, etc. There are lots of little Pynchon resonances sprinkled through the text, of course, but, in my opinion, based on a nearly complete third reading, not anywhere near as many as in Against the Day. 

And there's the question of whether they add up to anything or not. For instance, Blatnoyd offers Doc some cocaine, which Doc is initially reluctant to accept. Blatnoyd says something along the lines of, this is great, pure stuff, just came in from Darmstadt. Now, Darmstadt was the HQ of Merck chemical (who, as every schoolboy knows, created MDMA i.e. ecstasy), and there are a few references to Darmstadt in GR, not least mention of (again, this is from memory) some canisters of cocaine bearing the insignia of Merck of Darmstadt........ So, plenty of pointers there to go scurrying off a-Googlin', but what does it all amount to? Certainly it's a tick in the 'GR/WWII References in IV' column, but so what?

I'm not arguing that there is no deeper meaning or purpose to the book, just that its existence cannot be so easily ascertained as previously. In as much as there is a 'meaning' or 'purpose' to IV, beyond the noir/autobiog meld, then I'd say, thus far, it seems to be just a continuation of Pynchon's usual themes (or some of 'em), in this case subtly apparent, rather than booming out unmistakably as in ATD. And I'm happy with that.