Paperback’s I’m finding cheapest they seem to go is $16.
Can find a ton of copies of Inherent Vice, Mason & Dixon, Gravity’s Rainbow etc. for under 10 bucks.

Where do I start with Pynch

Crying of Lot 49

Still haven’t processed this, quite possibly the most surprising release in modern day culture. Pynchon is one of the last great American chroniclers, and at 87, returns to the same era as his magnum opus. He is the greatest recluse in art history and i’m so excited to see what may possibly be his last offering.

I don’t love his work per se but there’s no denying he operates at a completely isolated level of complexity and language.

got a copy of against the days i gotta read now

why did i just see this wtf

i guess ill give lot 49 a shot now

I was able to find an excellent used hardback of Vineland for I think 15 and some.

intrigued

started 100 pages of Gravity's Rainbow earlier this year and rly digged but then fell off hard again w my reading :')

Have you read it before? I finished it a couple months ago

naw I've only read Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice so far. ultimately wanna get through all of them prob but yh GR is the next challenge

it's def difficult but also fairly readable still, at least compared to Infinite Jest which was by far the most challenging (but also rewarding) read I've done

IJ was sooo good, once that little spark hits and you feel like “okay.. i see what he’s doing” is the nicest click ever. I’ll still randomly think of moments from that book during my day.

I’m surprised you find GR easier though, I felt like this was so disorienting. Blend that with niche historical references and complex language and you really have to work to complete the story. Let me know how you like it. The casino chapter is absolutely incredible!

oh no I do think GR isn't an easy read at all, I just meant going in knowing it's literally considered one of the most notoriously difficult books it wasn't quite as bad when you've done DFW

like still up there w the more challenging stuff I've read, but it does give you lots of interesting characters that you can latch onto fairly well, even if what's plot and what's hallucination is difficult to say lol but that also makes it fun. it's just pretty funny and entertaining book generally

really digged Inherent Vice, I actually watched the film like 2-3 before reading but it's a rare example for me where book and film just mutually expand on each other. the film completely nails the characters and tone, fun, paranoia imo and the book just gives you more of that wonderful prose and vibe. film is an all-time fav for me have since watched it more like 7x lol

so i'm going to read my first Pynchon sometime this summer. thinking of just starting with Vineland because of the PTA movie but perhaps Lot 49 is a better place to start because it's shorter??

Im so confused reading Gravity Rainbow English is not my first language, so its hard to follow sometimes

dw broski english is my first language and I wanted to kill myself reading the first 50 pages

Book makes you want to cry when you first start it, it’s so frustrating.

Which part are you at?

lmaoo in the beginning I was like is it like this the whole time?

Im in part 3 (?) now I think, like 340 pages in

It gets pretty insane in Part III. Just know, Pynchon himself was doing a lot of psychedelics during this phase and said there's parts of it that he himself doesn't know what he meant.

bookmarks.reviews/reviews/all/shadow-ticket

Polarizing classic inbound.

Given the fact that Pynchon is 88, y’all think it’s safe to say this’ll likely be his final novel?