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/lit/ - Literature

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1990961 No.1990961 [Reply] [Original]

>2011
>Still not reading Thomas Pynchon
>I seriously hope you guys are not doing this!

>> No.1990967

>reading pynchon
>might as well be reading erotic literature

>> No.1990982

>>1990967
Or badfic.
>Baby Igor x Metzger plz

>> No.1991024

> take /lit/'s advice and read Gravity's Rainbow
> no idea what is going on
> can't even make out a coherent scene
> finish it having only gained the realization that rocket ships look a lot like penises

Ok, I gave up after page five ;_;

>> No.1991042
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1991042

>>1991024

>> No.1991043

>>1991024
After page 5? seriously? did you even get up to the banana breakfast?

>> No.1991050

yeah, I've never read any of his work.

oh well. I'll have to impress hipster chicks with my massive penis instead.

>> No.1991078

>>1991050
What I wanna know is why I can't find any hipster chicks. I've read all the shit they love, now I just need to find them. I don't want all thsi reading to be for nothing

>> No.1991084

>>1991024
don't read gravity's rainbow

pick up something easy and interesting like inherent vice

>> No.1991105

>>1991084
I have Slow Learner and plan to use that as my introduction to Pynchon.

>>1991043
Apparently not. The beginning was just too convoluted for me. I guess I need to get my feet wet with Pynchon first.

>> No.1991107

>>1991105

Slow Learner is a terrible introduction to Pynchon.

>> No.1991111
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1991111

> mfw snowballs have flown their arcs

That's Thomas Pynchon's hand sticking out the doorway.

>> No.1991113

>>1991105
I read V and didn't find it too bad, I'm reading Gravity's Rainbow now, i'm on page 120 but I'm not having any serious trouble yet.

>> No.1991129

>>1991113
You didn't have any trouble with the first few pages? I had no idea what was going on and quit out of frustration. I enjoyed the words, though (if that makes any kind of sense).

>>1991107
Why is that exactly? I think I remember hearing that you could clearly tell they were his early stories because they came off as amateurish. I may not be remembering right, though.

>> No.1991134

>>1991129
Read CoL 49 or Inherent Vice as an introduction, then you just need to dive in head first. Gravity's Rainbow gets easier as it progresses. If you read Slow Learner, just read Entropy and skip most of the rest.

>> No.1991139

>>1991129
>I enjoyed the words, though (if that makes any kind of sense).

I get that with a lot of the bursts of writing in it aswell, when I can't seem to make sense of it, but it's pretty rare that absolutely nothing makes sense for more than a sentence or two.

>> No.1991142

>>1991134

>Gravity's Rainbow gets easier as it progresses.

that wasn't my experience, save for the stuff on the boat.

>> No.1991143 [DELETED] 
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1991143

>>1991142
That's because you never did the Kenosha, kid.

>> No.1991144

>>1991139
The only real thing I find annoying with Pinchons work is his tendency to build up to a word. A word that defines a charecter or scene...

>blah,analogy,blah, history,blah and I guess you could say he was ____(BigWord)_______________

>> No.1991146
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1991146

>>1991142
I guess that's because you never did the Kenosha, kid.

>> No.1991154

Gravitiy Rainbow? was that this book where he fucks the loli? ive read the whole book and cant really tell whats its about. some parts are written clear and well and in many parts you dont even know where you are, who is acting or whats going on at all, it seems like he is switching between scenes without telling you. but it was still a good book, if you can finish it.

>> No.1991158

I've read a few hundred pages of GR, and had no idea what was going on. Maybe the plot and characters are easy to understand, buy the prose may as well be written in Latin. I hated it. His other works are a little better, but not much. Read Wallace or Bolano instead.

>> No.1991163

>>1991158
> read Wallace and Bolano instead

hahahahaha, classic Sunhawk

>> No.1991164

>>1991158
>Maybe the plot and characters are easy to understand, buy the prose may as well be written in Latin. I hated it.

You're reading for plot and character in a book that isnt about plot and character, this probably explains why you hate so many things that /lit/ loves, and vice versa, you read for plot primarily (i'm not saying its a bad thing). Pynchon is not about plot and character, sure he likes being zany, but it's his technique,and the way he plays with narratives and language that people like him for. I think you and Capsguy would make pretty good buddies.

>> No.1991165

>>1991164
words not language

>> No.1991170

>>1991158
How can you understand the plot and characters if you can't understand the prose? I had a hard time with GR like everyone else, but when I couldn't understand what I was reading, chances are I wasn't understanding the plot.