Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/5/84; site steinmetz.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!mcnc!ncsu!uvacs!edison!steinmetz!putnam From: putnam@steinmetz.UUCP (jefu) Newsgroups: net.books Subject: Re: Who the **** is Pynchon? Message-ID: <660@steinmetz.UUCP> Date: Tue, 25-Feb-86 07:41:01 EST Article-I.D.: steinmet.660 Posted: Tue Feb 25 07:41:01 1986 Date-Received: Fri, 28-Feb-86 21:25:41 EST References: <30@rtgvax.UUCP> Reply-To: putnam@kbsvax.UUCP (jefu) Organization: GE CRD, Schenectady, NY Lines: 60 Keywords: turn and taxis In article <30@rtgvax.UUCP> ramin@rtgvax.UUCP (Pantagruel) writes: >Thomas Pynchon is a rather mysterious figure posing as a respectable >author... >His major work however is "Gravity's Rainbow" for which he got >a National Book Award (for whatever that's worth). And it is worth mentioning that rather than collect the award himself, he send Professor Irwin Corey (a comic) to collect it for him, as him (um, that is, as i understand it, Corey just stood up, collected the award, pretended to be Pynchon and gave one of his usual monologues). Reports disagreed on how many people really thought it was him. >Part of the mystique of his work (I think) is his complete physical absence from >the world. Nobody knows who he is or whether he even exists... >There is a Thomas Pynchon who went to school at Columbia and who was >in the Navy, but no records of him were found (I actually heard some >records were misplaced in a freak break-in accident...) >Newsweek once ran a picture of him (at my school even that specific >3 or 4 year old copy of Newsweek disappeared from the stacks!) Shades of "Lot 49"! I had heard he went to Cornell and was in the Navy. > ... Under no >circumstances should one attempt "Gravity's Rainbow" without first >reading at least one of his short stories... Every single person >I know of who has tried has become discouraged after a few chapters... I used to regularly buy copies of "Lot 49" in used bookstores to give to people as an introduction to Pynchon. >The only reason I have mentioned him on the net is because of the >alarming rate of disappearance of warm old dusty foreign bars >and their regular patrons... Disappearance is a common motif in Pynchon. But, all this talk about his work neglects to mention that it is all very readable (Ok, i know i already admitted to not finishing "V") and much of it is very funny. After this discussion started, i went to my bookshelves, and picked up "lot 49" to find a quote, read about a paragraph, and found myself on page 1 rereading it for the n-plus-first time. Whew. Maybe its about time to try "V" again. Unlike some authors that attract "literary criticism" Pynchon is very readable, and often very funny. In fact, one of the funniest things i have ever read is in "Gravities Rainbow", about a page of description of a guy eating candy out of politeness and finding it, um, surprising. But he is also, at times deliberately repellent, opaque, puzzling... Im still waiting for his next work. I do hope he is still writing. (maybe i should change my .signature...) -- O -- jefu tell me all about -- UUCP: {rochester,edison}!steinmetz!putnam Anna Livia! I want to hear all.... -- ARPA: putnam@GE-CRD