Bill, what a coincidence... I have been rereading John D.,
too. For me, one of the highest points comes in The Turquoise
Lament (1973), whose virtues partially escaped me way back
when but not this time. I am planning a little nostalgia
review of this rich novel.
Of the ones you mention, "One Monday..." is terrific (I have
a vivid recollection, soon to be refreshed by rereading if I
can dig it up from the boxes). The others I remember much
less vividly, but I don't remember disliking
*any* JDM Gold Medals from that era.
He started getting cheesier and philosophical in the
seventies, or perhaps in the late sixties. The encyclopedias
can probably pinpoint when and how it happened.
I would have loved it if JDM had left some sort of
autobiography, like Block is doing. He's something of a
cipher -- brilliant but chillingly impersonal. Perhaps the
cheap philosophy was his way of thawing.
Best,
MrT
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