You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
You are the end result of a “would you push the button” prompt where the prompt was “you have unlimited godlike powers but you appear to all and sundry to be an impetuous child” – Zero, 2022
Pynchon's texts mobilize what might be called a double mysticism: on the one hand, a fear of total connectedness prevails (paranoia, dystopia), and on the other, a hope for total connectedness makes itself heard (ecstasy, utopia of a kind). It is a negative and positive mysticism, the one half of the binarism producing the other, as air conditioning makes you sweat. It is fair to say, I think, that the intimations of positive connectedness are reserved for the most rhapsodic prose: these are the moments when the novel "dreams" (one of Pynchon's favorite words). These can be touching moments, though often, as in "the unholy longing going on out here," there is a sense of meaning being a little too conveniently pushed beyond the verifiable, or even coherent.
Personally, this is perhaps the thing I enjoy most about Pynchon: the very vagueness, the eloquent sidestepping of meaning, which suggests all sorts of possibilities.
oh dear this seems to be one of those "this person does a thing and it's a bad thing but i will not explain why it is bad the badness should be SELF EVIDENT YOU SCUM" kinda reviews
those are my least favorite sort of review because they are at once condescending and not informative or thought provoking
Not really. His point seems to be that Pynchon's work is full of zany humor and caricatures and fancy writing, etc., but has no deeper meaning other than vague mystical stuff.
but the reviewer doesn't explain why not having a deeper meaning and having loads of zany humor is bad, the badness is simply assumed to be self-evident
well, i do definitely think that deeper meaning is generally good, but to imply that lacking deep meaning is bad or indicative of being "for children" is...
needlessly limiting and indicative of being a rather boring sort of person
I thought that Atlas Shrugged was so (as the tropers say) Anvilicious that it doesn't have anything besides "deeper" meaning. Of course I haven't read it so what do I know.
Comments
Sad Mario Bros.
I should do that.
I forgot Anonus is not 15 anymore
they should make ME the head of a movie studio or something
Also, Pynchon is an artist.
I guess I'm a fan of rainbows...
I like it that way, of course.
as far as i can tell a lot of literary critics taking on the high end snooty stuff are just in it cos it's fun to them (and me sometimes)
this is such a good album but hardly anybody seems to have heard it