Tag Archives: Thomas Pynchon

Russian Rockets and Male Insecurity

By Robin Bates | Published: October 10, 2022

Putin bombing Kyev is more about proving masculinity than conducting effective military strategy. It’s like Hitler’s V-2 rockets, as described in “Gravity’s Rainbow.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged bombs, Gravity's Rainbow, Russo-Ukrainian War, Vladimir Putin | Comments closed

The USPS and Conspiracy Theories

By Robin Bates | Published: August 26, 2020

As controversies swirl around the postal service, Pynchon’s “Crying of Lot 49” seems relevant. So does Welty’s “Why I Live at the P.O.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Crying of Lot 49, Donald Trump, Emma, Eudora Welty, Jane Austen, Louis DeJoy, mail sabotage, U.S. Postal Service, Why I Live at the P.O. | Comments closed

Postal Service Under Attack (Again)

By Robin Bates | Published: April 15, 2020

Trump apparently would like to see the U.S. Postal Service die. Pynchon has a novel that helps us understand rightwing opposition to what others regard as a treasure.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged Crying of Lot 49, Donald Trump, mail-in voting, U.S. Postal Service | Comments closed

Lit vs. Fabricated Reality

By Robin Bates | Published: September 25, 2018

What are serious authors to do when they care confronted with fabricated realities? Author Kakutani reflects on life under Trumpism.

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged "Tlon Uqbar Orbis Tertius", Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Jorge Luis Borges | Comments closed

You Never Did the Kenosha Kid

By Robin Bates | Published: September 21, 2016

An aide to Ohio governor John Kasich recently labeled Republican National Committee chair Reince Priebus a “Kenosha political operative.” This gives me an excuse to revisit Thomas Pynchon’s extended riff upon “the Kenosha Kid” in “Gravity’s Rainbow.”

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump, Gravity's Rainbow, Reince Priebus | Comments closed