Re: IVIV: chapter seven—Eel Trovatore

[David Morris]

I don't know if there's any depth because I'm barely 1/3 through it.
But I know Pynchon, and he rarely serves up only surface.  Vineland
irked me because its surface made little sense at all its crucial
junctures, and I suspect thats' because it was an complex allegory for
some morality construct, and the storey was the dog's tale (get it?).
The storey was just a flawed delivery system.

IV hasn't come close tp blowing me away yet, but it holds together in
tone and story so far.  When I say it's "sloppy," I mean its feel, its
diction.  It's pure California beach slang with lots of jokeyness
thrown in.  That doesn't feel like bad writing to me, just an
attitude.

Whether the waitress is acidic or snappy, real or not, she is cartoon,
and not exactly meant to be examined too closely.  This is why I think
this IVIV tends toward silliness sometimes.  Too much deep diving
prematurely.

David Morris

On Wed, Sep 23, 2009 at 9:58 AM, rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com> wrote:
> purposefully sloppy--how does one prove that?
> if u don't know if there is any depth how can u say its hidden
> Pynchon I  believe wrote a pretty straightforward novel for good or ill
> Nixon Atlantis Ho Lemuria--profound its not
>
> rich
>
> On 9/23/09, David Morris <fqmorris at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I think these criticisms are snarky at best.  They're all attacking
>> what is IV's attitude/voice which is supposed to be laid-back
>> stoner-LA.  It's purposefully sloppy diction.  I don't think it's bad
>> writing.  It IS cartoonish, purposefully so.  If there is any depth
>> going on here (and I don't know that there is), it's hidden
>> underneath.