Franzen and Pynchon

[alice wellintown]

The History of Literature tells us that critics make too much of
anxiety and influence. There are authors out there who wouldn't get
passed page one of a Pynchon novel, but write beautiful and amazing
books.

Pynchon is fur sure over-Rated and his influence over-Stated. No? I
mean, do any of the great females writing today pay him a complement?
Isn't he more about male readers who want to look highbrow on the
subway in Brooklyn these days? Just sayin.

On 8/18/13, Tom Beshear <tbeshear at att.net> wrote:
> Franzen retreated into social realism, with welcome touches of the comic. He
> does what he does but it's not on a level with P. or DFW or WTV -- Europe
> Central is a masterpiece and I hope he lives to finish the Seven Dreams.
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: eburns at gmail.com
>   To: rich ; owner-pynchon-l at waste.org ; Lemuel Underwing
>   Cc: Joseph Tracy ; P-list List
>   Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 6:43 AM
>   Subject: Re: Franzen and Pynchon
>
>
>   A-and Franzen has to know he's not even playing in the same league! It's
> hard to imagine any American writer not being "influenced" and/or in awe of
> Pynchon and Gaddis, but of course the challenge is to move beyond,
> through...not get stuck in.
>
>   There are some examples: Vollman springs to mind (his "You Bright and
> Risen Angels" was certainly influenced by TRP, but he has gone off on a
> frolic of his own (with mixed, but always fascinating) results. Foster
> Wallace is another example. There are many others.
>
>   Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>   From: rich <richard.romeo at gmail.com>
>   Sender: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org
>   Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 20:16:00 -0400
>   To: Lemuel Underwing<luunderwing at gmail.com>
>   Cc: Joseph Tracy<brook7 at sover.net>; P-list List<pynchon-l at waste.org>
>   Subject: Re: Franzen and Pynchon
>
>
>   Malcolm Lowry was practically driven to despair by as he saw it the
> onerous influence of past masters. Figured Franzen got it out of his system
> with his excoriation of William Gaddis in the New Yorker. Guess Franzen
> hasn't
>
>
>
>
>   On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 7:37 PM, Lemuel Underwing <luunderwing at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>     I have a subscription and ran out to the mailbox after reading your
> post, Joseph.
>
>     My goodness was that article unbearable.... Franzen never casts off
> Pynchon, and is effectively subsumed by him along with others, I don't know
> how he got so popular except as perhaps a "Fad"...
>
>
>     That said I still enjoy Harpers, if only because I currently cannot
> afford a sub. to Lapham's Quarterly...
>
>
>
>
>     On Sat, Aug 17, 2013 at 9:32 AM, Joseph Tracy <brook7 at sover.net> wrote:
>
>       There is an article in the new Harper's(sept 2013) by J Franzen
> titled A Different Kind of Father in which he reviews the role of Pynchon as
> a literary "father" he later rejected.
>
>       The issue also has a good article by  William Vollman on his
> experience  with the FBI  and Border Agents along with FOIA research into
> his FBI files. For no discernible reason he was a suspect in the unabomber
> case. Not quite Slothrop but Kafkaesque with a side of Marx brothers.
>
>
>
>