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From: gsmith@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Gene Ward Smith)
Newsgroups: net.books
Subject: Re: Nabokov and Pynchon
Message-ID: <12360@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Thu, 13-Mar-86 22:09:47 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.12360
Posted: Thu Mar 13 22:09:47 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 15-Mar-86 19:31:31 EST
References: <362@mhuxj.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: gsmith@brahms.UUCP (Gene Ward Smith)
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
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In article <362@mhuxj.UUCP> sara@mhuxj.UUCP (TRIGS) writes:

>A friend of mine was an intimate of Nabokov in Geneva in the early 1970's
>and reports that Nabokov hated Pynchon. He reportedly referred to 
>GRAVITY'S RAINBOW as a "comic book" and "trash." The mention of Pynchon's
>name on the occasion in question led to an even longer string of insults
>which I cannot now remember in detail. In any event, it seems unlikely
>(the obvious stylistic differences aside) that Nabokov and Pynchon could
>have been the same person.


     Of course, if Nabokov had made up Pynchon in the same way that he
made up The Great American Poet, John Slade, then this would be the
attitude to adopt. I think the crude, "comic book" character of GR
is what redeems it (if anything does). By the way, "smiley face" on 
the theory that Nabokov invented Pynchon, in case anybody really was
wondering. 


ucbvax!brahms!gsmith    Gene Ward Smith/UCB Math Dept/Berkeley CA 94720
ucbvax!weyl!gsmith       "DUMB problem!! DUMB!!!" -- Robert L. Forward