Anyone bought the new Thomas Pynchon book yet?

[pynch]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Interesting, that one (!) sentence makes me want to skip the book!

eP

Originally Posted by Valhalla

Ditto

So you had the intention to read the novel before you heard about this sentence?

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by pynch

So you had the intention to read the novel before you heard about this sentence?

I doubt it. Most likely just a predilection for peeing on someone else's parade when the opportunity presents.

[pynch]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I doubt it. Most likely just a predilection for peeing on someone else's parade when the opportunity presents.

My thoughts exactly.

[elemenoP]

Originally Posted by pynch

So you had the intention to read the novel before you heard about this sentence?

I have tried to read Pynchon in the past (Vineland) and it didn't go well. He is one of those authors that I think I *should* read in order to... I don't know, expand my mind? This one looked interesting in the premise, and perhaps more accessible. But the one very long sentence reminded me that it will probably be yet another difficult slog.

In writing my comment, I was thinking about how the whole concept of "good writing" or "beautiful language" is so personal. One person's yum is another person's yuck. Obviously, I didn't write that in my comment, I chose to write something short and glib. I didn't at all mean to pee on anyone's anything, and I'm sorry if it came off that way. To those who love Pynchon, perhaps you enjoy a different writing style than I do, or perhaps you're just smarter than me.

eP

[doubleshuffle]

I had no problems with your comment, elemenoP. I certainly couldn't read only books in Pynchon's style: though I love it, it's a bit of an effort; I haven't been able to finish Against the Day because I lost track of the scores of characters. (I will eventually finish it, though - not because I think I must, but because in spite of losing track I loved it.)

About the paragraph I quoted: I just found it extremely funny, especially the list of travel destinations at the end culminating in the bowling alleys of Liechtenstein. Made me almost spill my coffee.

[DiapDealer]

To be honest, I had no real problem with elemenoP's comment either. It, combined with the post following it, just happened to give me a bit of a drive-by, negative potato-pile vibe. That's all.

[doubleshuffle]

The fun of online forums, I know. Of course I would never....

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Indeed. Random favourite sentence:

Quote:
AS LABOR DAY APPROACHES, everybody in the world begins calling in, people Maxine hasn’t heard from for years, a classmate from Hunter who reminds her at length how at just the right moment in an evening of irresponsible stupor she saved this person’s life by hailing a taxi, folks from out of town making their annual autumn pilgrimages into NYC, eager as any city-dwelling leafers headed the other way to gaze at spectacles of decadence, sophisticated travelers who have been away all summer at fabulous tourist destinations, back now to bore everybody they can round up with camcorder tapes and tales of fantastic bargains, travel upgrades, living with the natives, Antarctic safaris, Indonesian gamelan festivals, luxury tours of the bowling alleys of Liechtenstein.

All I can say is eek!

Helen

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

To be honest, I had no real problem with elemenoP's comment either. It, combined with the post following it, just happened to give me a bit of a drive-by, negative potato-pile vibe. That's all.

Now I must trepidatiously ask what is a potato pile vibe. Are potato piles kind of like crop circles but sentient. I have never seen a pile of potatoes that weren't mashed into submission.

Helen

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Now I must trepidatiously ask what is a potato pile vibe. Are potato piles kind of like crop circles but sentient. I have never seen a pile of potatoes that weren't mashed into submission.

Sorry. I'll try to be brief to avoid too much derailment.

Potato Pile: seems not to be as universal as I thought it was, but basically a children's game/prank where someone yell's "potato pile!" and proceeds to fall down on someone and form a pile on them (much to the bottom person's chagrin).

Hence, I got a vibe that multiple people (potato pile) were popping in (drive-by) just to simply to announce that; "Hey! I don't like that thing you said you like" (negative) without really contributing much else.

I see it happen quite a bit whenever people talk about books/authors that others deem a little too "Literary" (for lack of a more meaningful descriptor) for their tastes.

May not have been what was happening here, but like I said, just a vibe I had. Carry on.

[speakingtohe]

I don't think it was what was happening as I had my reaction before reading the other posts. A very long boring run on sentence that seemed to me to be more than a tad condescending. However some people like that and I shouldn't rain on their parade. Just can't help it at times.

Helen

[doubleshuffle]

Okay, the sentence is long, agreed. Boring, well, matter of taste, I guess. But could you please explain what is supposed to be condescending about it?

[speakingtohe]

AS LABOR DAY APPROACHES, everybody in the world begins calling in, people Maxine hasn’t heard from for years, a classmate from Hunter who reminds her at length how at just the right moment in an evening of irresponsible stupor she saved this person’s life by hailing a taxi, folks from out of town making their annual autumn pilgrimages into NYC, eager as any city-dwelling leafers headed the other way to gaze at spectacles of decadence, sophisticated travelers who have been away all summer at fabulous tourist destinations, back now to bore everybody they can round up with camcorder tapes and tales of fantastic bargains, travel upgrades, living with the natives, Antarctic safaris, Indonesian gamelan festivals, luxury tours of the bowling alleys of Liechtenstein.

Not condescending to me personally. But perhaps to the sophisticated travellers back now to bore, or the person whose life she saved in an irresponsible stupor or those gazing at decadence (mindlessly one assumes).

I haven't read the book, and possibly the character (Maxine) has very good reason to regard everyone that is mentioned with such overwhelming disdain. Taken out of context as it was quoted, I find it both condescending and pretentious. But probably they have all done something totally unforgivable that I am unaware of.

Helen

[doubleshuffle]

Well, Maxine is rather busy with the case she's on, so all those people would get on her nerves just by being there - not because of any kind of condescension on her part, but simply because she has no time and energy to spare for them at the moment. For her it's a mass of people she can't deal with right now, and her feeling of being overwhelmed is brilliantly conveyed by the long, cluttered, overwhelming sentence.

And back to the disdain and condescension: Have people never gotten on your nerves when you were busy with other things? Didn't the stuff they thought so important feel silly to you? If not, you're a much better person than I am (and than most people I know.)

And last but not least: Do you seriously like people who force their holiday stories on you? Honest to god? Then you're a saint, I guess, and too good for a Thomas Pynchon novel (or any kind of satirical writing, really).

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Well, Maxine is rather busy with the case she's on, so all those people would get on her nerves just by being there - not because of any kind of condescension on her part, but simply because she has no time and energy to spare for them at the moment. For her it's a mass of people she can't deal with right now, and her feeling of being overwhelmed is brilliantly conveyed by the long, cluttered, overwhelming sentence.

And back to the disdain and condescension: Have people never gotten on your nerves when you were busy with other things? Didn't the stuff they thought so important feel silly to you? If not, you're a much better person than I am (and than most people I know.)

And last but not least: Do you seriously like people who force their holiday stories on you? Honest to god? Then you're a saint, I guess, and too good for a Thomas Pynchon novel (or any kind of satirical writing, really).

As I said, the sentence taken out of context was unappealing to me. Never actually had anyone force their holiday stories on me that I can recall.
As to people bothering me with their problems, happens all the time. Sometimes I listen and sometimes I go lalalala (in my head) I can't hear you. Probably I do the same to them with my problems on occasion. Not something I have found myself dwelling on though.

Sorry for not understanding poor Maxine's life problems better.

Helen