Franzen and Pynchon

[David Morris]

I never read early Franzen, so don't know his PoMo work.  I enjoyed his
Freedom.  It kept one engaged, and did feel "real."  But it wasn't "deep,"
so I think I agree w Mr. Tracy's judgement below.

On Sunday, August 18, 2013, Joseph Tracy wrote:

> I agree with SU that the article in Harpers' was tedious. I wasn't
> recommending it for quality but potential relevant interest. I do
> understand  and even respect the craftsmanship that has made Franzen
> popular.
> I  also agree that for a reader who enjoys Pynchon, Franzen is not in the
> same league. And this article reveals an obsession with status and approval
> that may be undermining his potential. I'm fairly sure that his work would
> have been more impressive to me if he had not made his break with those
> described as postmodernists so public.
> He is a clever writer, even a gifted writer, but the work fades from
> memory as too properly balanced. Engaging in the reading, it doesn't hold
> an edge. That is my own experience.
> On Aug 18, 2013, at 11:03 AM, Tom Beshear 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 <javascript:;>
> > To: rich ; owner-pynchon-l at waste.org <javascript:;> ; 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 <javascript:;>>
> > Sender: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org <javascript:;>
> > Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 20:16:00 -0400
> > To: Lemuel Underwing<luunderwing at gmail.com <javascript:;>>
> > Cc: Joseph Tracy<brook7 at sover.net <javascript:;>>; P-list List<
> pynchon-l at waste.org <javascript:;>>
> > 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<javascript:;>>
> 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<javascript:;>>
> 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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