STetc - Towards a theory of cheese in ST

[Michael Bailey]

Just to add, Praediger's offices if.successful would be offices of.mercy - preventing Buno from doing further harm, but also treating Bruno according to prescribed and.limited punishment so that ideally he could emerge like that Rascal Raskolnikov, thinking clearly and enjoying life for perhaps the first time ever.

whereas the karmic forces of retribution including but not limited to his fellow criminals will not necessarily be so merciful

As usual no reference to person or persons is explicitly intended
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From: Pynchon-l <pynchon-l-bounces at waste.org> on behalf of Michael Bailey via Pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Friday, September 11, 2026 12:55 AM
To: Joseph Tracy <coypoet at mailfence.com>; Pynchon List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Subject: Re: STetc - Towards a theory of cheese in ST



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JT     Later( p179) we get a scene where Praediger, after soup spooning coke into both nostrils , screams about
    “how insulting to me personally, to, to be mentioned in the same breath with this feeble impersonation of a crime boss? To waste my talent not on an evil genius but on an evil moron, dangerous not for his intellect, what there may be of it, but for the power that his ill-deserved wealth allows him to exert, which his admirers pretend is will, though it never amounts to more than the stubbornness of a child…”.

-----Seems like a lot of books used to have a disclaimer in the front saying something like, "this is a work of fiction, any resemblance to any person or persons, living or otherwise, blah blah blah etc"
I never see that anymore, afaik. Weird.
Anyhoo - remember in AtD, some people got a big kick (and I must admit to a small kick) out of "The Adventure of the Chums of Chance and the Evil Halfwit", thinking of possible parallels etc. But, then as now, y'know - To what effect? Another thing I don't see much anymore is the word "passim" - but I think it applies sometimes: like, yeah, that was probably a sidelong nod and a wink to some person or persons, but just in passing - it's not an "intrigal" part of the plot or message, in my reading...remember, Pynchon's writing for the ages!
I'm not saying it ain't there. But, if Bruno represents a person or persons, or even a faction on the current scene, then whom or what does Praediger represent?
The passage goes on to have Hicks say, "Could be worse," Hicks tries to murmur sympathetically, just managing to avoid adding, "like if it turns out he's just smarter than you." Almost as if (actually somebody [JT] posted on the list about this (-; ) whatever Bruno represents is awfully bad, but the ostensibly-good forces opposing him have serious flaws themselves. ( there still being a vast gulf of difference isn't a refutation)
Reminds me of the 2016 debate where the Praediger candidate didn't give the necessary immediate pushback to the Bruno candidate saying "the fact I get out of taxes means I'm smart." There are a million reasons that's not true but I was left (like Praediger) fuming and screaming (inwardly) while "Bruno" - along with viewers lacking moral fiber - probably came away thinking that was a made point!
If there's a tableau to be built around this encounter on page 179, I think it'd be like, Crime (represented by Bruno, over there down the way), Law & Enforcement (sitting across from Hicks, high as a kite), and Hicks, a little bit peeved and put off, just barely managing not to indicate "boy howdy, that bad guy has the brains" - which is a Good Thing not just because it would offend Praediger, but also because it would cloud Hicks's moral compass to see the Bruno/Praediger conflict as an isolated thing in which "Bruno wins" is a possible outcome.
Even if (when) Praediger is eluded, Bruno's still got to face all manner of karmic retribution, and will.


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