Anyone read this? At first I was kind of indifferent to it but now I can't stop reading it. It's great.

Started/stopped several times. Pynchon's one of my favorite authors, but I really haven't had the motivation to follow through with this, his widely-regarded masterpiece. One of these days...

Never read any of his work yet but want to. Tried flipping through The Mason-Dixon Line once but it gave me an 18th century headache.

This is one of the hardest-to-read-yet-most-rewarding things Ive read. Of course, I never finished Infinite Jest, but I dont know anyone who did.

I actually liked V better, but Rainbow is the better book, I think.

saw a great documentary on him on arte a few months ago. kind of a weirdo (like all geniuses).

there was a whole thing on how he always avoided being photographed or interviewed to protect his anonymity or whatever. even when he won like a pulitzer or national book award or something big for either "v" or "gravity's rainbow" he didn't show up to accept it...he hired some actor to do it. because he had never been seen in public before no one in attendance had any idea it wasn't him.

i started V once upon a time but only read a few pages and then left the book stateside. i'll take it back up in a few days wheni get back hopefully.

I also liked V better.... it seemed Gravity's Rainbow, brilliant, a masterwork, daunting... was a research novel. It seemed Pynchon was trying to bring in too much science, philosophy that were overlays, not organically rising from the art of the narrative. It did take me three times to actually get all the way through... V I read like a pageturner, a mystery, I couldn't stop...

I'm in the same boat with IJ. I have it sitting at home...I think I'm like somewhere at 300 but I just always get too sick of it. The problem is that I kind of forget the story and the characters each time.

I need to get back on those Pynchons, stat.

A book which, along with Ulysses, it is my contention that NO ONE HAS READ!

People talk about it, name check, but they don't really read it.

(now all chime in with really earnest, "I've read it" responses)

















liars

Why? Nobody is forcing you to read it.

Toni Morrison is only praised because she is a black woman.
No one has read Ulysses.

Umm.... Classics Illustrated perhaps?

I cannot get into Pynchon. I have started V about 20 times and completely lost interest about 50 pages in...I WANT to read it. I want to like it!

are you crazy? Toni Morrison is fantastic

The distinguished Senator had dissed La Morrison on another thread.

uh...because I would like to perhaps?

i don't use this thing very often at all (read: never) but this is the most suitable time ever imaginable:

I actually just finished reading Ulysses two weeks ago and it's the best book I've ever read. Along with Brothers Karamazov.

Also, I'm not sure what the hell is so difficult about Gravity's Rainbow. Maybe it's because I'm coming off Ulysses, but it seems pretty linear to me. There are a lot of characters, but Pynchon's tangents are pretty easy to follow.

I started V once and never finished, and have read The Crying of Lot 49. Didn't really like it very much.

i really wanted to read the crying of lot 49. it was on my book shopping list a long time ago, one i kept forgetting to look for but i always wanted to read.

it's weird that you made this topic today. i had a dream last night that i bought a pynchon book from goodwill and i couldnt decide whether i should give it to you or keep it myself.
probably give it to you. i have so many books to read i dont know what to do with myself.

the answer is clearly READ