A second on Pynchon's critical reputation

[Thomas Eckhardt]

Thank you, Bekah. I find it very interesting how differently New Yorkers 
respond to Pynchon's treatment of 9/11.

FWIW I believe he handles 9/11 wonderfully. "From bad to worse. All day 
long." (quoted from memory) -- that was how I experienced the day, in 
Bonn, glued to the television and the computer, starting to drink early.

Trivial, certainly, but feelings and thoughts became more complex again 
only later. And I think Pynchon catches this quite nicely.

More to the point, I think Pynchon treats 9/11 in the way he has always 
treated historical horrors in his novels, which is to say obliquely. 
There may be individual deaths but mass murder and genocide are rarely 
if ever in full view (a debatable point, as P-list history shows) but 
instead just around the corner, in the background, embedded in memories, 
dreams, visions etc.

(J. M. Coetzee has something to say about the depiction of atrocities in 
fiction in his wonderful "Elizabeth Costello.")

On a more general note: It is quite astonishing how different the 
responses to the novel are, both here on the list and in the various 
media. I would have very much liked to hear more from Laura and John 
(Carville) about what they perceive to be the shortcomings of BE.

Thomas


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