Currently reading this for the first time...

>Seems like a way of painting belief in conspiracies and meta-narratives to be ludicrous

pynchon isnt for you, buddy

try zadie smith

>a way of painting belief in conspiracies and meta-narratives to be ludicrous
Nnnnnnnnnnno. Try the reverse.

so there is a conspiracy that the author has constructed ( the existence, origins, and intentions of Blicero's rocket), whose purpose and premise is objectively ridiculous (strap a submissive boy sealed in fine latex into a rocket pointed at the audience, for an ultimate tongue-in-cheek climax) which presumably destroys the narrative itself (by blowing up the last page of the book)

This seems like a joke to me: thinking too hard about what "They" are up to (They as the author, They as the conspirators, They as the metanarrative's "evil empire")

it's hard to take the novel seriously, which is why I enjoyed it

I am on my knees, please further explain this better, user, desu

>Seems like a way of painting belief in conspiracies and meta-narratives to be ludicrous.

And also, how maybe the craving for sex/power is like a leading motivator in the powerfuls actons? Like in the end, its all about sex? All that stuff, mainly to be in a powerful enough position to have the type of sex you want whenever you want it?

> you will never have a young virile German witch blind a voodoo doll of yourself with her used panties, preventing the climax of your buildungsroman quest of revenge against your half brother
why even live?

Sex as the driving force behind all the actions of the novel, and trying to ascribe "rational" motives to what are, inevitably, deeds based on passion (especially the higher up you go)
One of my friends believes the rocket signifies the sexual revolution that came after the war

>so there is a conspiracy that the author has constructed
> has constructed
> constructed
> the author constructed

no, try franzen maybe

Pynchon often makes fun of overinterpretation in this and other books and he usually seasons a jolly spin on the paranoia but you shouldn't get reader's block on it, the whole novel isn't just a big wink

To you guys asking about companions: the weisenberger annotations are really top notch.

the story of the bulb is one of the best parts of the entire novel

>do you even know who Byron was?
I'd like to read GR, but I'm afraid I can't understand anything, especially the references and such that, as far as I understand, make the book such an enjoyable experience
What would be required reading before diving into GR for a person who's new to anglo literature?
Joyce? Byron? Vonnegut?

yes you will need to read the complete works of byron the lightbulb before even thinking of approaching gravitys rainbow

Did anyone else get major comic book and Men's Adventure magazine vibes from GR?

>Dudes with psychic links to other people
>Giant octopus snatching Katje on the beach
>Slothrop's various alter egos

And that bit near the end where Slothrop is literally a comic book hero with the three other whackos

we should do a book club of GR (maybe after the W&P one?)
I've been wanting to read it soon

major marvey gets his balls chopped off, slothrop dissolves into nothingness, the loli dies, roger and jessica never resolve their love affair, laszlo jamf might not exist, and the mystical part of the fabled rocket was just a compartment for a human to sit in. Blicero launched off his little twink and the Schwarzkommando leader is gonna do the same thing to himself.

never start a thread about a book you havent read

It's only fun in retrospect. While your going through it you feel like your in a harrowing acid trip.

but what if that's what They want you to think

I've been on those, i wouldn't say they are 'fun' but interesting nonetheless.

This is incredibly true.
I just finished it and it's way more fun thinking back about it than reading certain excerpts (that bit in the Counterforce where Slothrop has gone mental)

>and the mystical part of the fabled rocket was just a compartment for a human to sit in.
What did he mean by this?
>Blicero launched off his little twink and the Schwarzkommando leader is gonna do the same thing to himself.

and this?

What are the theories on what those could metaphorically mean? Is he trying to say anything deeper, or is it simply: imagine a person on a rocket...crazy right?

Been wanting to read up on some plastic man to prep for a re-reading of GR

think of it like the last two episodes of evangelion

>Pynchon will never be interviewed by Charlie Rose

fuck this world

>implying it isn't all satire pointing out how academics tend to over analyze and over interpret literature by assigning nonexistent structures and meanings to things that don't require it

I had no idea how bad I wanted this until now

The bi-plane pie dogfight...

Rose isn't an amazing interviewer but I want video evidence of Pynchon so I know he's real and not an elaborate ruse

Nah, Rose is great, he really knows about the guests and is intelligent enough to make the conversation interesting