Critical Thinking

[Kai Frederik Lorentzen]

 > my favorite novelist

Make that novelist*s*: The slip - if telling at all - probably has to do 
with the fact that I reread /Der Zauberberg/ (The Magic Mountain) in 
early summer and - Hey man, the best book! - it simply rocked my mind. 
But Pynchon is definitely still on my list!


On 18.09.2012 21:12, Kai Frederik Lorentzen wrote:
>
> Myself I don't have this that much with novels anymore. I argue in my 
> mind with philosophers, social scientists, or mystics. Not with 
> novelists, whose works I consider more to be like symphonies or 
> poetry. To argue with Pynchon about, say, his take on the Balkans 
> question in AtD does not appear to be fruitful to me. It's like 
> argueing with Ezra Pound on Confucianism when you read The Cantos. 
> Gravity's Rainbow way back was different insofar as it contains 
> historical facts which were hard to find in middle of the road history 
> books. Of course it still interests me what my favorite novelist think 
> about this and that - like Thomas Mann's changing attitudes towards 
> the West over the years -, but basically it's all about melody and 
> rhythm.
>
> On 18.09.2012 15:41, rich wrote:
>> something ive been mulling over in my mind recently--do you find
>> yourself having conversations with the novels you read (and indirectly
>> the novelist I suppose), I mean arguments, questions, confusions,
>> anger at times, too. I wonder why despite feeling somewhat negative
>> about Pynchon's last two books I continue to engage them. Far be it
>> for me to want to be one of those guys or gals who harp ad nauseum
>> about the things they obviously hate. I mean if you dont feel the need
>> to argue with the writer you're reading, that must mean something.
>> Pynchon has really annoyed me the last few yrs (much of which
>> admittedly is not his fault--Ive changed, he hasn't or maybe he has
>> who knows).  there seems to be some benefit for me to argue with him.
>> guess i'll just continue on with that
>>
>> rich
>>
>>
>
>
>

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