The Lone Rider Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Ok, am I doing this wrong ? I tried reading his Gravity's Rainbow, and I honestly can't say exactly when it was that I gave up on trying to understand it. It doesn't make any sense. Seriously, I gave it my best shot and I can't even understand what the fuck he is trying to say. I found Pynchon because a friend told me he was regarded as pretty much the best American author, and I found Gravity's Rainbow in a local library. I've tried everything - explanation blogs, videos etc- but when I try to sit down and actually read the fucking thing, I can't help but think I am reading some alien language. Am I just dumb or something, because there's a pretty good chance that I am just dumb. That, or nobody really gets Pynchon and everybody's just pretending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfella Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 After 100 pages of Gravity's Rainbow I was thinking this may be the best writing I've ever experienced. After 250 pages I gave up feeling much the same as you do, and like my brain had been sodomized. I may give Pynchon another shot someday, but I think maybe it's the type of book you have to go into with the expectation of not understanding everything (or maybe very little at all), and if the writing is enjoyable or interesting enough, then reading some analysis about the book as a follow up to help you appreciate the book more. But most times those types of books are just too much work for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lone Rider Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 4 minutes ago, Winterfella said: After 100 pages of Gravity's Rainbow I was thinking this may be the best writing I've ever experienced. After 250 pages I gave up feeling much the same as you do, and like my brain had been sodomized. I may give Pynchon another shot someday, but I think maybe it's the type of book you have to go into with the expectation of not understanding everything (or maybe very little at all), and if the writing is enjoyable or interesting enough, then reading some analysis about the book as a follow up to help you appreciate the book more. But most times those types of books are just too much work for me. It's like there's a voice in your head screaming "Why are you reading this shit ! Your niece writes better than this !" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 I love GR, it's one of my favorite books of all time. But I had to read it with the published guidebook by Weisenburger, otherwise many of the references and allusions went flying over my head. Seriously, GR isn't where to start with Pynchon. Try the Crying of Lot 49 or V or Bleeding Edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 Gravity's Rainbow is awesome, but it did take me a very long time and a lot of effort to read. It's one of those where, the first time, you really just need to roll with it and enjoy the writing. I never felt that it didn't make sense though. I mean, it was ridiculous and surreal and chaotic and sometimes didn't seem to be going anywhere, narratively, but I don't remember any time where it departed the plane of reason. Gonna have to give it a re-read at some point. Also: try other Pynchon. I've heard it's probably his toughest novel as well, so others may not be as much of a test. It's worth it just for the sweet-eating scene though. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when reading that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lone Rider Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 31 minutes ago, kuenjato said: I love GR, it's one of my favorite books of all time. But I had to read it with the published guidebook by Weisenburger, otherwise many of the references and allusions went flying over my head. Seriously, GR isn't where to start with Pynchon. Try the Crying of Lot 49 or V or Bleeding Edge. 16 minutes ago, polishgenius said: Gravity's Rainbow is awesome, but it did take me a very long time and a lot of effort to read. It's one of those where, the first time, you really just need to roll with it and enjoy the writing. I never felt that it didn't make sense though. I mean, it was ridiculous and surreal and chaotic and sometimes didn't seem to be going anywhere, narratively, but I don't remember any time where it departed the plane of reason. Gonna have to give it a re-read at some point. Also: try other Pynchon. I've heard it's probably his toughest novel as well, so others may not be as much of a test. It's worth it just for the sweet-eating scene though. I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did when reading that. I've tried looking for The Crying of Lot 49. I'll start from there. Any advice for GR ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 30 minutes ago, The Lone Rider said: I've tried looking for The Crying of Lot 49. I'll start from there. Any advice for GR ? https://www.amazon.com/Gravitys-Rainbow-Companion-Contexts-Pynchons/dp/0820328073/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1473700930&sr=8-3&keywords=gravity's+rainbow There is another annotated guide on the internet, which fills in certain ideas/references that the above doesn't address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted September 12, 2016 Share Posted September 12, 2016 you need to take gravity's rainbow slowly. maybe use the guide. maybe use the art (which used to be freely available on the intertubers). in general, start with 'pynchon lite': crying of lot 49 first, then the short fictions, then inherent vice, then bleeding edge, then vineland. that last is nicely transitional, as it has some of the bizarre analeptic/proleptic complexities that make GR so difficult. V probably as first 'true pynchon,' to work up to GR, M&D, ATD. (am still working through those latter two, also.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Lone Rider Posted September 12, 2016 Author Share Posted September 12, 2016 Thanks for the reading order ! I guess first order of business is getting The Crying of lot 49 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andorion Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 I can relate to this. I just finished Part 1 of Gravity's Rainbow and I didn't understand a whole lot of stuff. The one very tentative conclusion I drew was the the Second World War really really messed with the modern psyche. I am having a lot of trouble relating to the absurd stuff as I think Joseph Heller did it far better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 Mason and Dixon is killing me, but it's mostly the Damn Capitalisation. I'd also recommend starting with Inherent Vice, it's probably the most accesible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnionAhaiReborn Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 People are giving helpful advice but I think this should also be said- no, you're not dumb, and it's ok if you want to put down GR and never pick up another Pynchon novel again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sologdin Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 quite correct. pynchon is labor intensive. i just read back over goodreads writings on him, and it's plain that i'm not understanding the novels very well. NB that the protagonist in bleeding edge has a “skill set being a tendency to look for hidden patterns” (22), which is kinda what readers need to have to make any little bit of sense of the texts. it is definitely an acquired skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weeping Sore Posted September 13, 2016 Share Posted September 13, 2016 The difficulties of GR are no set POV, only the loosest plot structure, out-of-control run-on sentences with grammatical unorthodoxies, hard-core technical jargon, a heavy dose of archaic references and old pop-culture, German terminology, and the disorientating effect of the moral view of human death as the universe's main language of communication. And some other difficulties I'm not remembering. I read it without the guide, floating along, enjoying the sound of the words when I couldn't understand what was going on. And was rewarded with some incredible passages like the kaleidoscopic multi-POV orgy scene and the sweets scene. There's an exhilarating feeling of the bottom dropping out beneath you, of destruction and mystery and doom. It's kind of like the whole book is the trash compactor scene from Star Wars, with that Freudian attack-penis lurking in the oily water under all the strangely weightless metal and the walls closing in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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