Thomas Pynchon the Great

I have recently been introduced to the vast, extensive, dense, lengthy and ultimately rewarding genius that is Thomas Pynchon. He is widely regarded as THE great living author and has produced the greatest compositions of words I have yet encountered.

I would like to invite anyone to discuss the works of this great author and the ways in which he has affected them. Personally, after having read some of his works, my vision upon the world has become increasingly sweeter.

I highly, highly, highly recommend his works to everyone! A good starting point would be Mason & Dixon, a sci-fantasy non-fiction that reads like a poem, a rather long one at that.

Wow, a fresh mind comes to Pynchon and doesn't hate it! My first was "Against the Day" and I read it in my Junior year of high school so my friend in college wouldn't have someone to run ideas off of. He hated the book but I absolutely LOVED it.

reply to post by The_Modulus


Have been looking to give 'Against the day' a good read.
Is now on the Christmas list

The only pynchon I've read was gravity's rainbow; but I've read it multiple times.

I have enjoyed comparing it with Joyce's Finnegan's Wake

I have a copy of the latter that I've been annotating on and off or over a decade. The particular interpretations of it that fascinated me are the "fly fishing" angle versus the alchemical interpretation.

I mention it because I believe Pynchon consciously copied the four-fold layout, the focus on seasons, and the contrasting viewpoints of the actors in a way intended to point to specific passages in the earlier work. If so, then pynchon must have a favored interpretation, and I want to discover what it is.

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I like Gravity's Rainbow a lot too. One of those books that really encompassed me completely. Finnegan's Wake is something I also love to read along with it. I've done it a couple times but people think I'm crazy.