I'm about to go buy a Pynchon novel from the bookstore. How would you rate his works? I'm currently reading Infinite Jest and don't feel memed. I'm 500 pages in and actually really enjoy it, largely because the subject matter is interesting to me.
Anyway, because I'm reading IJ I feel compelled to purchase Gravitys rainbow. Is this a bad idea? I have a heavy science background if that matters..I've read Pynchon's novels sometimes involve a lot of science.
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Gravity's Rainbow is far more enjoyable with that sort of background, so i'd say give it a go after IJ.
>largely because the subject matter is interesting to me.
I meant relevant to my life
OFFICIAL SUBJECT MATTER RANKING OF INFINITE JEST:
SHAKESPEARE TIER
>MARATHE'S LIFE
ELDER GOD TIER
>MARATHE AND STEEPLY'S CONVERSATIONS
>POLITICS OF ONAN
GOD TIER
>PGITW'S LIFE
>JAMES INCANDENZA'S LIFE
GREAT TIER
>GATELY
>LYLE
>THE NUCLEAR WARFARE GAME
GOOD TIER
>OPENING SCENE
>ALL OTHER STORIES NOT MENTIONED HERE
FILLER TIER
>TENNIS ACADEMY SHENANIGANS
EDGY TIER
>HAL INCANDENZA
>inb4 Mason & Dixon
Read V, then Gravity's Rainbow, then stop.
The science in GR isn't particularly heavy. It's just part of the compendious background material that's stuffed into Pynchon novels. The wider your general interests, the more you'll enjoy him. Pynchon is the ultimate generalist's author.
One of the greatest novels of all time tier
>Gravity's Rainbow
Great tier
>V.
>Crying of Lot 49
>Mason & Dixon
Good tier
>Against the Day
Enjoyable enough tier
>Inherent Vice
>Bleeding Edge
Shit tier
>Vineland
How can one man be so wrong? M&D is fantastic. Start with V or M&D, whichever you find more interesting.
>It's my first week on lit and I've never read Pynchon
Remove first category, move GR to Great tier
Move V and CoL49 to Good tier
Move Against the Day to Great Tier
Move IV to Good tier.
I'm reading GR after finished IJ (actually read a few short books after IJ) and I'm having a blast. I'd say go for it, OP. It's pretty fun, I also am finding harder than IJ.
IJ is a rip off of GR so yes its harder because the one is the derivation of the other and thus lower fidelity
M&D is just Pynchon-by-numbers. He phoned it in. It was a blatant commercial ploy more than anything.
>muh great Murcan novel
I've read all his books, DFW
Is Vineland really that bad?
...
here u go
Bump M&D up a tier and I agree.
No, but it's the obvious outlier of the bunch. If it were written by another author it would be better appreciated, but compared to the rest of his oeuvre it doesn't hold up. I'd give it a 5.5/10
This is missing info on the different versions of V.
You mean the fact that Harper Perennial's print of V is much better than the Vintage?
This is the first I've heard of this.
Should I watch Inherent Vice first or read it? Or forget that the book even exists?
I read the book and then watched the movie.
I loved both and I recommend reading the book first.
dude...reading a book is never a bad idea.
not always true
hitler read mein kampf and look what he did
the first pynchon i read was gravity's rainbow, and it was no problem. i really enjoyed it. if that's the one you're interested in, you'll be fine.
i prefer his "big" novels, so my secondary recommendations are mason & dixon and against the day.
honestly, i find his shorter novels drag more than his long ones. but crying of lot 49 was pretty good, and so was inherent vice.
Gravity's Rainbow has characters that first appear in V.
On that basis, it is recommended for people to read V first.
OP here
Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to go with gravity's rainbow right off the bat and then move to other stuff if I enjoy it. I read some of the synopses of his other novels and GR seems the most interesting to me. It seems a lot of US history is involved in his stuff, and I'm Canadian so it's not very easy to relate to.
>no Erdedy waiting for weed in shakespeare tier
>no Wardine be cry in newly formed shit tier category
I do agree that the Marathe/Steeply stuff is great so far. Really love the setting of their conversation.
Hal sections that feature Orin are pretty great though
you really should read V. first
t. never read pynchon
Really?
Who?
I've only read GR and TCoL49
Kurt Mondaugen is the big one, he has a whole chapter about Sudwest Africa and the Hereros in V. Also Pig Bodine becomes Seaman Bodine, I forget in which books. However I disagree that reappearing characters should determine reading order. They all enter and exit the "stage" just as unceremoniously in each book, and I don't see how their appearance in one informs another.
>the absolute state of jewish brainwashing
>Politics of Onan in Elder God Tier
>Opening Scene as low as Good Tier
hold up...
You've clearly read neither.
It's really scary that it's happening all over again with DRUMPF. Have you read 1984?