Janet H. - another aging boomer also born the same year as Gere. I think you make a good point, Stephen in stating that This Side of Brightness is not so much about race but about the outmoded idea of race. We see the progression of ideas of race throughout the book starting with Nathan Walker as a black man working with immigrant white men. Thanks for the info on the ironworkers though I have to admit it burst my bubble of racial harmony on the girders. Once again, I feel acutely the shortcomings of our species.
Survival depends upon co-operation.
I second your appreciation for this insight. I was a little put off by the whole race discussion, since it seemed so external to the novel and the author's points of concentration. I don't really know what it's about. In my opinion this is probably the last of Pynchon's books I'd recommend to anyone, particularly for a time-limited bookgroup read. There are soooo many ideas and levels, so much to annotate, so much parallel material.