Dougie Jones
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Post by Dougie Jones on Feb 4, 2017 21:17:50 GMT
So far only read Inherent Vice and The Crying of Lot 49, and currently reading Vineland. Have to say I am really loving all of it, well on course to become my favourite writer if the quality keeps being this strong!
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Post by TheAlwaysClassy on Feb 5, 2017 17:43:02 GMT
Never had a bad book, IMO. Wasn't the biggest fan of Vineland, but it's still better than 99% of any other writers best book. Gravity's Rainbow will always be my favorite though.
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Post by DeepArcher on Feb 5, 2017 21:26:16 GMT
Yep. The first I read was Inherent Vice, because I'm a huge fan of the movie and I loved the book as well. I then tried to dive into Gravity's Rainbow. I got all the way through it, but I think a lot of it went over my head. I'm definitely gonna need to re-visit that one a few years from now when I feel I'm more capable of conquering it.
I currently have Against the Day, V., and Bleeding Edge on my shelf, and am looking forward to getting his others as well. He has a very unique voice and a fun style, I love his work a lot.
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Dougie Jones
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Post by Dougie Jones on Feb 5, 2017 21:47:23 GMT
Never had a bad book, IMO. Wasn't the biggest fan of Vineland, but it's still better than 99% of any other writers best book. Gravity's Rainbow will always be my favorite though. Yeah I tried Gravity's Rainbow a few years back, but I had to give up after about 200 pages just cause I didnt have focus it needed at the time. That said I thought it was absolutely brilliant even if there was a lot of stuff I didn't understand, but the writing man, oh the writing, it is just so beautiful. I dont have to have a clue of what his sentences mean, but they still always manage to make me laugh or feel something! What are your favourites beyong Gravity's?
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Post by stephen on Feb 5, 2017 22:37:33 GMT
V is phenomenal, and I think there are a lot of similarities to it and PTA's The Master (which makes sense, seeing as PTA loves Pynchon and was steeped pretty heavily in the guy's work in that time period).
The Crying of Lot 49 is great, but would be lower-tier Pynchon for me.
Gravity's Rainbow is a trying experience but oh so rewarding if you can stick it out. It's one that definitely works better on re-read, though, once you're keyed into what he was going for.
Vineland is perhaps my least favorite of his novels, but that's like saying Beethoven's Eighth is your least favorite symphony. It's still a fine read, and perhaps his most readily adaptable after Inherent Vice. Would make a great Coen project.
Mason & Dixon is probably my personal favorite. I love its approach and how Tommy mastered the lingo and created something that feels so "of the time" yet also quintessentially himself. It's so rich and vibrant.
Against the Day runs a close second for the position of my favorite. I love its sprawling nature, and I think it is a bit more restrained than the unremitting chaos of Gravity's Rainbow, which is an easier transition for anyone getting into Pynchon's "heavy-hitter" novels.
Inherent Vice is his most accessible and filmable (obviously), and it'd be my suggestion for anyone starting out with the man.
Bleeding Edge is very good but I put it down with 100+ pages to go almost two years ago and never picked it back up. I don't feel right grading it, and I do want to give it another go.
For anyone who wants to read Pynchon, here's my suggesting reading order:
1. Inherent Vice 2. The Crying of Lot 49 3. Vineland 4. V. 5. Against the Day 6. Mason & Dixon 7. Gravity's Rainbow
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Post by TheAlwaysClassy on Feb 5, 2017 22:51:06 GMT
Never had a bad book, IMO. Wasn't the biggest fan of Vineland, but it's still better than 99% of any other writers best book. Gravity's Rainbow will always be my favorite though. What are your favourites beyong Gravity's? Mason and Dixon, I'd say. It took me 2 read through a to "get" GR, but it's so damned dense, I don't think anyone but Pynchon could ever get the whole thing. But try to jump back in whenever you get the chance.
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Dougie Jones
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Posts: 188
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Post by Dougie Jones on Feb 6, 2017 3:04:03 GMT
TheAlwaysClassy oh I will absolutely give it another go, I´m thinking maybe one or two more books by him after I finish Vineland and then I´ll go for GR
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Post by PromNightCarrie on Feb 6, 2017 21:08:20 GMT
I never read Vineland, but I went through a phase where I read multiple Pynchon novels back to back. The Crying of Lot 49 is the quickest read, but it's still a worthy one (particularly for its excellent use of paranoia). Inherent Vice is easily his most accessible. I wouldn't say it's his best work, but it is a hilarious and entertaining read.
Of all the Pynchon novels I've read, the one I most want to revisit is V. I loved V because while it doesn't go as far as Gravity's Rainbow, it was the perfect introduction to Pynchon's zany style, and it was exciting following those characters and the twists and turns of the story.
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Post by clunkybob on May 25, 2017 13:33:15 GMT
Yeah I read his first three novels (well two novels and a novelette..) and about half of Slow Learner. GR is probably my favourite book.
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Post by moonman157 on May 25, 2017 21:16:17 GMT
I've read Crying and Inherent, thought the former was brilliant and the later very good.
How should I approach GR when the time comes? It just seems so intimidating, even compared to other things I've read like Absalom, Absalom, Infinite Jest, Underworld, etc.
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Post by jimmalone on Jun 16, 2017 18:45:19 GMT
Not a fan yet. Only read two of his books:
Mason & Dixon, which was highly interesting for the first half and had some great moments, but the second half felt way to long for me and he needed to much pages to say to few things. Inherent Vice: A nice version of Philip Marlowe on drugs, a very good read indeed.
So far this was not enough to make me a fan. But I'll probably give him another try. Most likely with Against the Day, which seems the most interesting one to me.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2018 18:25:24 GMT
I've read Crying and Inherent, thought the former was brilliant and the later very good. How should I approach GR when the time comes? It just seems so intimidating, even compared to other things I've read like Absalom, Absalom, Infinite Jest, Underworld, etc. I think the difficulty of Gravity's Rainbow gets overstated by a lot of people. It's more challenging than Infinite Jest but not *way* more challenging. If you were able to follow the "main story" of IJ (Jim's utter failure to communicate with Hal, the consequences of the various forms of "Entertainment", and the "inactive hero" role that is fulfilled by the two main protagonists - Gately's spiritual redemption in the hospital and Hal's panic attack that hits him towards the end of the book and renders him horizontal/brings us back to the first person narration of the first chapter) then I would doubt you wouldn't be able to do the same for Gravity's Rainbow. I'm sure plenty of references and obscure tie ins Pynchon wrote went over my head, but I still absolutely loved the book. Also if you like Pynchon's writing style already I think it's a safe bet you'll really get into GR. Anyway, I'm definitely a big fan - GR is easily one of the best books I've ever read. I'm looking forward to checking out Mason and Dixon.
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Post by stephen on Sept 12, 2018 18:44:44 GMT
I've read Crying and Inherent, thought the former was brilliant and the later very good. How should I approach GR when the time comes? It just seems so intimidating, even compared to other things I've read like Absalom, Absalom, Infinite Jest, Underworld, etc. I think the difficulty of Gravity's Rainbow gets overstated by a lot of people. It's more challenging than Infinite Jest but not *way* more challenging. If you were able to follow the "main story" of IJ (Jim's utter failure to communicate with Hal and the "inactive hero" prophecy that is fulfilled by Gately's spiritual redemption in the hospital and Hal's panic attack that hits him towards the end of the book) then I would doubt you wouldn't be able to do the same for Gravity's Rainbow. I'm sure plenty of references and obscure tie ins Pynchon wrote went over my head, but I still absolutely loved the book. Anyway, I'm definitely a big fan - GR is easily one of the best books I've ever read. I'm looking forward to checking out Mason and Dixon. Mason & Dixon is definitely worth the time and effort. Hope you dig it as much as I did.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2018 19:45:13 GMT
I think the difficulty of Gravity's Rainbow gets overstated by a lot of people. It's more challenging than Infinite Jest but not *way* more challenging. If you were able to follow the "main story" of IJ (Jim's utter failure to communicate with Hal and the "inactive hero" prophecy that is fulfilled by Gately's spiritual redemption in the hospital and Hal's panic attack that hits him towards the end of the book) then I would doubt you wouldn't be able to do the same for Gravity's Rainbow. I'm sure plenty of references and obscure tie ins Pynchon wrote went over my head, but I still absolutely loved the book. Anyway, I'm definitely a big fan - GR is easily one of the best books I've ever read. I'm looking forward to checking out Mason and Dixon. Mason & Dixon is definitely worth the time and effort. Hope you dig it as much as I did. Yeah, I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about it. We also agree on Blood Meridian's unfathomable greatness so that's encouraging. After that one I'll probably read Against the Day, which seems to be a decent amount of people's favorite thing he's written.
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Post by stephen on Sept 12, 2018 19:59:50 GMT
Mason & Dixon is definitely worth the time and effort. Hope you dig it as much as I did. Yeah, I've heard pretty much nothing but good things about it. We also agree on Blood Meridian's unfathomable greatness so that's encouraging. After that one I'll probably read Against the Day, which seems to be a decent amount of people's favorite thing he's written. Against the Day rules. It's remarkable the different genre conventions he plays with from chapter to chapter, from boys' adventure to penny dreadful Western to highfalutin sci-fi.
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