The Recognitions

[Monte Davis]

Rich R sez:
> If I did ever meet Pynchon, I think one of the first things I would
ask him is if he ever read the Recognitions. I would be shocked if he
said no

I wouldn't believe him if he did say no; it would stretch my belief in
parallels and convergences too far.
This carries no connotation of "imitative" or "derivative," but I have
believed for decades that The Recognitions must have encouraged young TRP:
one CAN pull off (and get published) this level of arcana, obsession,
knotting-into, and sophomoric funny names.

That said, I wouldn't be active in a group reading of TR. I respect Gaddis
as much as I do Pynchon, but I don't enjoy him nearly as much. I get more
feeling of "decoding," as I do when going from Ulysses to Finnegans Wake.

Monte