Thoughts :: Archive

Against the Day

Originally published October 16, 2006

It is official, Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr's latest novel Against the Day is to be released at the end of November, and already has it's own page on wikipedia.

As is the case with Pynchon, it has been some time since his last novel, Mason & Dixon, was published - nine years between books.

Will it be worth the wait? If, like me, you are plunged into despair whenever you wander through your local bookshop, looking at the yards of pulped pine and unedited, purple prose that constitutes much of what is published now, then this is a red-letter day. Put simply, Pynchon is one of the few living writers who qualifies for the title of 'great.'

I know. In the current age of hyperbole, this seems to damn with faint praise. But since the death of the last living genius of American letters, William Gaddis, Pynchon -with a few of his coevals- is one of the occupants of the pantheon that deserves the epithet.

If I had to name the three great novels of the twentieth century (and, funnily enough, I will proceed to do just that), I would say they are, in chronological order, Ulysses (1922), Gaddis' The Recognitions (1955) and Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow (1973). That is some pretty impressive company that Tom is keeping there...

In fact, for a while rumours floated around that Pynchon was Gaddis, or vice versa - I can't remember which. Both were reclusive (come to think of it, Pynchon was also rumoured to be JD Salinger for a time. Which just goes to illustrate how celebrity gossip has changed over the years - now we get X is sleeping with Y, or Z has had a boob job; or perhaps I am just romanticizing the whole thing. In any event, as far as rumour goes, it is far more interesting speculating about the identity of America's greatest living novelists (I think Don DeLilo was in there as well)) and refused to be photographed or to appear in public. However, as one of his critics so astutely observed years ago, the relationship between Pynchon and Gaddis' writing was "parallel, not series."

So yes, I have advance ordered my copy (which will arrive some time in December, apparently) and I will read it over the holidays and post my thoughts early in the new year. Am I excited? Uh huh. Mason & Dixon was a terrific book, a wonderfully warm and moving paean to friendship. After the disappointment of Vineland, Pynchon's only ordinary novel, M&D signalled that TP had not lost any of his considerable talents.

Naturally, a Pynchon novel couldn't arrive without a hint of controversy. Advance notice was posted to Amazon a couple of weeks back and, accompanying the notice, was a blurb written by Pynchon himself which was taken down a day later.

Roll on December.

Comments?

This comment is totally facetious , but i couldn't resist, and it probably reflects the banal depths I have plumbed living in America, BUT 'does Against the Day have a myspace profile?'
Ian

Um, have you checked? You could always add one... I think it is an excellent idea: I am sure Tom has a heap of friends.

thomas pynchon is on myspace, he's friends with (amongst others), james joyce and he likes to watch star trek
Ian