/lit/ - Literature

>>14977948
Confession: it defeated me on page 516 (of 547).

Generally I try to pass on a book early, knowing I can always return to it (and not bitter over having invested too much). But this one I tried to trudge through. By the time the finish line was in sight I was out of gas.

Same thing happened on my second reading of Lot 49. Last chapter and it got the better of me.

t. brainlet

>>14726820
Read V. first. I'm about to start GR too, but I read V. just before and had such a great time. It accustoms you to some of Pynchon's more wacky passages and is still a joy to read.

I just finished this, I read it once many years ago but remembered little. Why do so many consider Gravity's Rainbow to be the better book? Sure, GR is better from a purely technical standpoint, but I am having difficulty not seeing GR as anything but V with better writing at the sacrifice of everything else. This reread has really put Pynchon into a different light for me and I am not really sure what to think, there is a good chance I am going to start it again tomorrow.

V/Pynchon general.

No book has made it more abundantly clear to me how much of an absolute retard I am. I finished this five minutes ago after a couple weeks of reading on and off and trying to understand what was going on all to no avail. Is there any supplemental or secondary material I can latch onto in order to actually get to the core of this thing? I've seen anons suggest that one is just supposed to enjoy how wacky it is, but I can't bring myself to find any entertainment in this in the face of the absolute opaque wall of frustration that I'm faced with it lieu of knowing I'm too dumb to understand it. And I was planning to get to GR eventually too. Fuck.

As someone who reads mostly for characters, is this worth finishing? I’m about 60 pages in and every page just keeps introducing more and more characters who disappear just as quickly. Is this shit ever going to come together or is it just as wild a ride from start to finish? If so I might drop it. That’s not where my tastes lie. Would love to hear why people like it/Pynchon in general. I’ve also read Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice and didn’t find myself blown away by either.

Halfway through this... I have no fucking clue what's going on.

>tfw no paola gf

>>12070801
V. Read V.

How the hell did he write this when he was 26, it's superhuman.

man, I'm not gonna make it through the Fausto Majistral chapter

I'd like a full rundown of Pynchon as an author. It it a worthy investment to read his books, mainly his early ones- V, 49, and GR? I'd like to know the pros and cons of reading him from a certified Pynchonite.

GIT

Hey /lit/, let’s have a V. discussion thread.

>What did you think of the book?
>What did you get out of the book?
>What do you think the main themes were?
>Who were you favorite characters?
>Which was your favorite part?

>What do you make of V.?
What mostly stood out to me was the concept of animateness which was pretty heavily mentioned throughout. Not really sure what to make of it though. A lot of characters seemed to be corrupted and obsessed with inanimate things to differing degrees, like Esther and her nose, Rachel and her MG, Slab and his cheese danishes. I think it could be a reflection of their character and their descent from humanity? Profane didn’t succumb to this and was a bit more of a ‘free spirit’. Maybe this ties in with decadence too? I understood that the more inanimate one is, the more they become like an automaton, and less capable of feeling genuine, deep and sincere emotions.

What do you guys think?

(P.S. pls be nice. I’m not practiced in literary analysis but am trying to improve. Also my first Pynchon)

How is this compared to his other works? Where does it stand?

wtf. i started reading it, i'm done with the first "stencilized" chapter and like wtf?? how do i understand this prose? i have to google something like every page. i have no idea what just happened; i dont know if the fat guy and the sunburnt guy are dead or what?? am i just retarded? what do i have to do to follow a narrative like this?

I think this book is more readable and compelling than The Crying of Lot 49. I'm about halfway though. The writing is pretty weird and fascinating in both books, but the plot of V is better in my opinion.

Anyway, what can I expect from gravity's rainbow, in relation to the two novels that preceded it?

what a shitshow

what a shitshow

How the hell did Pynchon get this trash published? Nepotism?

Is it "vee." or "five."?

I have read Inherent Vice twice and just finished V and both were disappointments of which I got nothing out of.

What book should I choose for last chance?

V. is just Jojo's Bizarre Adventure for non-weebs.

Discuss.

>>9805332
I'm not sure what to recommend based on this song, but because I like this song, and you like this song, I'll recommend V.

https://youtu.be/-ckYh8gFnn4

This arrives tomorrow. From Pynchon I've only read Inherent Vice and I liked it a lot.

What the fuck am I about to get into?