Chap 16, The Price of Wisdom is above Ruby's...

[alice wellintown]

Corny allusions are an element of P's juvenile style. We either enjoy
this element of his style or we put up with it. Wood's complaint,
however, is not limited to P's juvenile style of writing, but extends
to his juvenile characters and how P fails to provide a reason why
readers should care about them. Indeed, P deliberately pulls, not only
the rug out from under the reader's conventional expectations about
characters, but also the floor or ground. Shasta is back? And? She is
back. Does Larry care? Does anyone? Should the reader? What about the
postcard? What about it? Who cares? Denis, Bigfoot, Fritz, other "less
devloped" characters expect that Larry will care; they tell him that
Shasta is back in town. These dialogues about Shasta's return place
emphasis on Larry's reaction, but his reaction is subdued. He doesn't
seem to care. He runs out and into Bigfoot and goes to see Penny. Of
course, Shasta suggested he go see Penny the last time she returned
from wherever (CH. 1). And he did. We go along. P tosses in a few more
jokes and set-pieces and sex. Shasta? Who cares? That Penny is head
down in Larry's penis. Juvenile? You could say that.


>
> I like the joke that the burgers killed so many mice and roaches
> there were no health-code violations. Others besides james wood
> find it juvenile?
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>