Interesting reading of Pynchon. I got lost in both Gravity's Rainbow and Against the Day, so have been wondering if there's an easier onboard, although wasn't sure if it was worth it. If the gist is that there's no puppetmaster pulling the strings (which is how I've heard his main 'thesis' described) it doesn't hold much appeal, but you arguing there's not as much cynicism to him has me curious.
Pynchon is like Gaddis-he has a center of romantic bemoaning of the condition he describes. DeLillo and Barth don't, for differing reasons-Barth *is* mostly that cynical, while DeLillo I think has a certain deeply submerged religiosity happening.
I know it's nowhere near his best novel but I love IV. Maybe because I used to live in Los Angeles on the coast and he captured a vibe that is now mostly gone but peeks through the California malaise.
Interesting reading of Pynchon. I got lost in both Gravity's Rainbow and Against the Day, so have been wondering if there's an easier onboard, although wasn't sure if it was worth it. If the gist is that there's no puppetmaster pulling the strings (which is how I've heard his main 'thesis' described) it doesn't hold much appeal, but you arguing there's not as much cynicism to him has me curious.
Pynchon is like Gaddis-he has a center of romantic bemoaning of the condition he describes. DeLillo and Barth don't, for differing reasons-Barth *is* mostly that cynical, while DeLillo I think has a certain deeply submerged religiosity happening.
I know it's nowhere near his best novel but I love IV. Maybe because I used to live in Los Angeles on the coast and he captured a vibe that is now mostly gone but peeks through the California malaise.