V. is for Vineland
Okay, I just finished Vineland. Not, 80 pages from the end, but actually finished. Read the last page and now I am done. That means that aside from Mason Dixon and about half of Slow Learner I have read everything that Pynchon has published, including the letters of Wanda Tinasky (which, as it turns out, are not by Pynchon). And...
Well, both Kyle and Robert Viking O'Brien assured me that this was the ultimate--the best novel by Pynchon. Well... I don't see it. It's good. I'm not saying that it isn't good. It's full of regular good time Pynchon weirdness and that works out pretty good, but it has no edge. Let's get that straight.
Look, I consider myself something of an expert on old Tom. I wrote a master's thesis on Gravity's Rainbow, I've presented at two conferences on The Crying of Lot 49, and I've read lots and lots of articles about his works. So, I think its safe to say that I know of what I speak.
Pynchon's works are funny. Yes, sometimes hilarious, and in this capacity, Vineland satisfies. It's filled with reference to Ninja and Star Wars obsession and essentially pulls 80's pop culture together. Plus, it gives us the latter years of Wendell "Mucho" Maas, which is of course, nice in its own right.
But Pynchon novels are also fairly horrifying. The machine body of V., the conspiracy about a conspiracy of W.A.S.T.E., the cinematic revisionist history of Gravity's Rainbow. Pynchon generally replaces the phrase, "laughing all the way to the bank," with, "laughing all the way to the grave." Except that, if his novel is done well, you aren't even sure whether or not the graveyard will be dug up in a couple years to make the setting for "Poltergeist"--that's Pynchon. Vineland never goes into the darkness. It never even tries. It pretty much stays Fluff 'n' Stuff all the way to the end, except for a chilling scene at the end of the "People's Republic of Rock and Roll." There was a chance that Prairie, the novel's... ahem... main character might have to choose between her own Obi Wan or Vader, but she never really has to make that choice, and moreover we don't know enough about her to know what it would mean, regardless of the choice she made. If she chose the Vader Brock, would she just be following in the footsteps of her mother, or does that mean that the new generation of dis-enfranchised can be made to sell each other out just like the older generation, and moreover, is this just a struggle at the unseen fringes of society--a fight that only occurs in Vineland county.
Also, where the hell's the volta. Seriously, Gravity's Rainbow screws you up at the end, The Crying of Lot 49 screws you up at the end, even V. screws you up at the end (except that in V. you don't care, you haven't become invested enough in Stencil to give a crap that his quest is self-contradicting). Vineland: no about face whatsoever. It just, I don't know, achieves resolution. Except that Pynchon has been practicing his whole career a style that cannot achieve resolution. When he tries, the whole thing wraps up in about twenty pages. It's like he's been weaving this intricate tapestry of seedy underworld culture and then he just says, "enough of that. The End."
For the good stuff, Pynchon has definitely figured out how to tell a story that is, at the very least, a little more followable. The flashbacks go in order, which is nice. And as usual, the characters are extremely interesting (except for Prairie who isn't interesting at all). The plot, for the most part, ties itself up. Other Pynchon novels due this through gimmick (all that weirdness in GR, for instance, is understandable once you know that the whole thing is a movie). This novel doesn't rely on a gimmick--the reason that things happen is related to what the characters do, rather than the way the literary universe is defined. Still, I have to wonder about Godzilla's footprint at that lab Takeshi was investigating. That whole thing just got dropped, didn't it?
Anyways, Avram. I'm sure that you have some good stuff to say. I want to say no more here, but I may spoil the book in the comments if the discussion so merits it. So, future readers of Vineland, consider yourself warned!
Well, both Kyle and Robert Viking O'Brien assured me that this was the ultimate--the best novel by Pynchon. Well... I don't see it. It's good. I'm not saying that it isn't good. It's full of regular good time Pynchon weirdness and that works out pretty good, but it has no edge. Let's get that straight.
Look, I consider myself something of an expert on old Tom. I wrote a master's thesis on Gravity's Rainbow, I've presented at two conferences on The Crying of Lot 49, and I've read lots and lots of articles about his works. So, I think its safe to say that I know of what I speak.
Pynchon's works are funny. Yes, sometimes hilarious, and in this capacity, Vineland satisfies. It's filled with reference to Ninja and Star Wars obsession and essentially pulls 80's pop culture together. Plus, it gives us the latter years of Wendell "Mucho" Maas, which is of course, nice in its own right.
But Pynchon novels are also fairly horrifying. The machine body of V., the conspiracy about a conspiracy of W.A.S.T.E., the cinematic revisionist history of Gravity's Rainbow. Pynchon generally replaces the phrase, "laughing all the way to the bank," with, "laughing all the way to the grave." Except that, if his novel is done well, you aren't even sure whether or not the graveyard will be dug up in a couple years to make the setting for "Poltergeist"--that's Pynchon. Vineland never goes into the darkness. It never even tries. It pretty much stays Fluff 'n' Stuff all the way to the end, except for a chilling scene at the end of the "People's Republic of Rock and Roll." There was a chance that Prairie, the novel's... ahem... main character might have to choose between her own Obi Wan or Vader, but she never really has to make that choice, and moreover we don't know enough about her to know what it would mean, regardless of the choice she made. If she chose the Vader Brock, would she just be following in the footsteps of her mother, or does that mean that the new generation of dis-enfranchised can be made to sell each other out just like the older generation, and moreover, is this just a struggle at the unseen fringes of society--a fight that only occurs in Vineland county.
Also, where the hell's the volta. Seriously, Gravity's Rainbow screws you up at the end, The Crying of Lot 49 screws you up at the end, even V. screws you up at the end (except that in V. you don't care, you haven't become invested enough in Stencil to give a crap that his quest is self-contradicting). Vineland: no about face whatsoever. It just, I don't know, achieves resolution. Except that Pynchon has been practicing his whole career a style that cannot achieve resolution. When he tries, the whole thing wraps up in about twenty pages. It's like he's been weaving this intricate tapestry of seedy underworld culture and then he just says, "enough of that. The End."
For the good stuff, Pynchon has definitely figured out how to tell a story that is, at the very least, a little more followable. The flashbacks go in order, which is nice. And as usual, the characters are extremely interesting (except for Prairie who isn't interesting at all). The plot, for the most part, ties itself up. Other Pynchon novels due this through gimmick (all that weirdness in GR, for instance, is understandable once you know that the whole thing is a movie). This novel doesn't rely on a gimmick--the reason that things happen is related to what the characters do, rather than the way the literary universe is defined. Still, I have to wonder about Godzilla's footprint at that lab Takeshi was investigating. That whole thing just got dropped, didn't it?
Anyways, Avram. I'm sure that you have some good stuff to say. I want to say no more here, but I may spoil the book in the comments if the discussion so merits it. So, future readers of Vineland, consider yourself warned!
posted by Monstro D. Whale at
9:31 AM
3 Comments:
I dunno about "good stuff to say." I wouldn't even go so far as to say _Vineland_ is Pynchon's best work. I will posit that it is my personal favorite Pynchon novel to read.
Wherein we get into a discussion of an author's "best" work vs our own personal favorite novel. Much of my own enjoyment of the novel is entertainment, humor, and puff and stuff fluff that I am absolutely in agreement with Monstro about. This is not a heavy work of art. It is, damning Pynchon with faint praise, a good read. Pynchon Lite if you will. It is my favorite because of such things as characters, situations, storyline and other writely conciets. Its got great bits.
Just to warn Monstro, I found _Mason & Dixon_ to be similarly fluffy, and far far too long to justify it's pageousity. Big weighty fluff.
But hands down I see _Gravity's Rainbow_ as his best, literary, most amazing work. Here the work is all amazing "bits." It is fun to read, and reread, and analyze, argue, write thesis about, and use as a blunt weapon to cauterize the senses and make a better person of you. It is a desert island book. All hail its magnificence.
So "favorite" is not content based, but personal preference. You give me a choice of the two books to fill a little time reading at the bus stop and I'll gravitate toward_Vineland_ as being less gravitationally grave. I don't always want to traipse through war-torn Europe in a pig suit searching for some ultimate V-10 rocket. I'd rather throw myself through a plate glass window once a year to prove my insanity.
Do we see a little measure of my personality here? You betcha bibby. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to drive my office mate insane by moving some of his carefully placed pushpins.
No, I'm totally with you Avram. As far as being entertaining, it is. It doesn't have the whole flashback to flashback to flashback thing V. had. Nor does it have the whole is it live or is it memorex of Gravity's Rainbow. But I think pound for ounce--The Crying of Lot 49 is my fave, but maybe that's because it too doesn't do all that really intriguing and mind hurting stuff of Gravity's Rainbow. Let's try this another way. When you sit down to read Pynchon--if it's V., you'll have to read the whole book in one setting. If it's Gravity's Rainbow, you'll have to read for at least a few hours at a time. If it's The Crying of Lot 49, you can read a page or two and put it down as long as you don't take too long to pick it back up again. With Vineland, you can let it sit on the wayside for a week or two without forgetting too much.
But Avram, I totally agree, it is very entertaining and it's a hell of a lot funnier than The Crying of Lot 49. The only thing is, in all those strings he decides not to tease out in this one, I get the idea that there is a hell of a lot of sadness that he just didn't want to go into. But maybe that's the point. Whatever goes wrong, if you've got your family together, it can't be all bad.
But still...the Thanatoids!?
So, what you're saying is, "Vineland" is "The Village" of Pynchonville.
Hmmmm.
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