Franzen and Pynchon

[Mark Kohut]

I think there is a lot of exploration that could be done into
why women, even--or esp. well-read female writers, seem not much
interested, nor influenced by him, per Alice below........
 
Some of those youthful male attitudes in the early fiction, for which TRP
later apologized, may be one reason....but a good female reader like Ms. K Hulme
defended The Whole Sick Crew's 'hysterical realism" [term wasn't used then] by 
saying she knew groups [of guys] just like that......
 
 

From: alice wellintown <alicewellintown at gmail.com>
To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org> 
Sent: Sunday, August 18, 2013 11:34 AM
Subject: Re: Franzen and Pynchon


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.
>
>
>
>
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