I've also seen a thesis (but not read it) which dealt with Gnostic
imagery within Gravity's Rainbow - maybe related to Angela's suggestion of
the connection with alchemy. For what it is worth (I have no intention of
setting myself up as a literary critic so this is no more than idle
speculation), I've found the concern with the fetishistic nature of human
relationships with material culture to be one of the central themes of the
book, but there are, I suspect, many others. Whatever - in my utterly
uninformed opinion, it is one of the great post-war novels.
Chris Cumberpatch
----- Original Message -----
From: "AAPiccini" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 11:10 AM
Subject: Re: [CHA] Shoreditch Park Project
> Didn't know if you wanted reply on-list - but potentially interesting
> thread about Pynchon and archaeology. Yes, did persevere and it is well
> worth it. As with Mason and Dixon, the structures and flows of his writing
> are closely worked to convey *the story*. In Gravity's Rainbow the reader
> has to shift in and out of trance-like states, through densities of
> language and shifts into other narratives, which I always imagined must
> have to do with the unspeakable - the traumas of war that are beyond
> utterance, that elicit only profanity and babble. Although someone I once
> knew who did a thesis on it claimed it was all about alchemy and the
> illuminati.
>
> It would be really interesting to work with the text in the upcoming field
> work. Anyone to take up the gauntlet?
>
> Angela
>
> --On Monday, July 4, 2005 12:48 +1000 Alice Gorman
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> This project sounds completely fascinating. Has anyone on the list ever
>> managed to read Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon's novel about V2s and
>> London? It is notoriously difficult to read, and I only lasted a few
>> chapters before getting distracted by more frivolous books. Is it worth
>> persevering?
>>
>> Recently, in the Musee de l'Air et de l'Espace in Paris, I was looking at
>> some of the earliest publications on the V2. While generally aimed at
>> explaining what the hell was going on to the public, there was also an
>> awareness of the V2's potential to reach escape velocity.
>>
>> Alice
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________________
>> Dr Alice Gorman
>> Honorary Research Fellow
>> School of Human and Environmental Studies
>> University of New England
>> Armidale NSW 2351
>> Australia
>>
>> Space heritage: http://users.bigpond.com/zoharesque.htm
>> _______________________________________________________
>
>
>
> ----------------------
> Dr A A Piccini
> Department of Drama: Theatre, Film, Television
> University of Bristol
> Cantocks Close, Woodland Road
> Bristol BS8 1UP
> T: +44 0117 954 5472
> E: [log in to unmask]
>
>
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