This image of the two intertwined abysses can be said to be a picture of Russia itself. The basest and the highest, the most despicable and the noblest, profanity and sainthood, total cynicism and winged idealism, all meet here. http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/two-abysses-soul - Pynchon-l / http://www.waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l