Connotations 18.1-3 (2008/2009)

158
ROBERT E. KOHN
who are waiting to shoot them,” then asking his hosts if they “think
the Chicago Stockyards might possibly be rented out to me and my
friends, for a weekend’s amusement? We would of course compensate
the owners for any loss of revenue” (Against 46). What appears to be a
juicy bit of historical fiction is not that at all, because it is totally
inconsistent with supplementary information in Bancroft that, though
the Archduke attended the fair, “few at the time were aware of it, for
he came merely as a visitor and avoided all publicity” (971). That two
skycraft slid away at angles over the Venice tower illustrates the kind
of red herrings Pynchon uses to give the impression that historical
events are counterfactual, which they never are, whereas the archduke’s
hunting escapade in the Chicago stockyards illustrates the
kind of red herrings that give the impression of being historical fiction,
which they never are (Logan 226). 4
There is an extravagant claim in the novel about a heat wave in Europe
during World War I that sent me beyond the internet for validation.
According to Pynchon,
That summer had been memorable for its high temperatures. All Europe
sweltered. Wine grapes turned on the vine to raisins overnight. Piles of hay
cut and gathered early as June burst spontaneously into flame. Wildfires
travelled the Continent, crossing borders, leaping ridgelines and rivers with
impunity. Naturist cults were overcome with a terrible fear that the
luminary they worshipped had betrayed them and now consciously planned
Earth’s destruction. (1018)
I contacted Ahira Sanchez-Lugo at the National Climactic Data Center,
Asheville, North Carolina, who sent me a copy of an article entitled
“Heat Wave Decreases Wine Production in Madeira,” published
in the October 1919 issue of the Monthly Weather Review (Vol. 47.10),
advising that in August of 1919 the island of Madeira “was almost
‘smothered’” by extreme warmth (750). During that period, the
temperature in the sun was as high as 135 o . The grapes dried up rapidly, and
although many of them were just about ready to be picked at that time, […]
this year’s wine production [… represented] a depreciation of nearly 40% on
the previous estimate. (750)