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From: wfi@rti-sel.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: Thomas Pynchon (really William Gaddis)
Message-ID: <698@rti-sel.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 3-Mar-86 10:03:47 EST
Article-I.D.: rti-sel.698
Posted: Mon Mar  3 10:03:47 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 5-Mar-86 06:33:08 EST
References: <25@rtgvax.UUCP> <156@epimass.UUCP> <947@h-sc1.UUCP> <1746@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP>
Reply-To: wfi@rti-sel.UUCP (William Ingogly)
Organization: Research Triangle Institute, NC
Lines: 22
Summary: 

In article <1746@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> mmar@sphinx.UUCP (Mitchell Marks) writes:

>	Gaddis has the complexity and playfulness of Pynchon, and the
>audacity of the more obvious experimentalists, but also an important
>underlying seriousness Pynchon largely lacks.  The heat-death of the
>universe -- what a stupid thing to worry about when you get right down
>to it.  Sex, art, and religion -- now those are important things to worry
>about.

Entropy is in fact an important theme in Pynchon's work, but to refer
to his use of it as a silly obsession with the heat death of the 
universe is to oversimplify. Grossly. In Pynchon's work, entropy is 
the central fact behind things falling apart in our human world, esp.
communication. I see nothing 'stupid' about this notion.

As to seriousness, Pynchon seems to be saying Hell, we've had enough
seriousness and see what it's gotten us: the arms race, concentration
camps, torture, terrorism wherever we turn. Gimme a pie in the face,
old buddih; gimme Pig Bodine, and baby Tyrone, and Benny Profane. The
appropriate 'serious' literature for our age is a stack of Zap comix.

                              -- Cheers, Bill Ingogly