CoL49

[J K Van Nort]

Why is the Egyptian god of writing, wisdom, magic the namesake of an old man who watches tv constantly and has trouble remembering anything? Also, as Michael points out, he's actually young Mr. Thoth, at the ripe old age of 91. 

The muted horn. Meant to be a silence of sound? The muted horn in jazz had created some amazing, subtle sounds from Miles Davis and others around the time Pynchon worked on this book. Could this be describing how the Tristero works: subtle and muted, not for all but for the aware?

Pynchon reduces his reliability by making this an old man's memories of hearing an old man share his memories to a child/grandson. Yet the signet ring seems to yield credibility. This level of detachment from the actual event reinforces Pynchon's paranoid, conspiratorial world.

In solidarity,
James

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