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Old 07-21-2006, 10:43 AM   #44
spa ced
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Quote:
Originally Posted by twice
TONY! hah. wallace is wonderful. he goes on some of the lengthiest tangents you will ever encounter but they're well worth the energy. if i can find his book i'll type out a short story for you soon if you'd like?

so pynchon...well i would say that since you have V there is no harm in taking a look at it. as someone previously said; lot 49 isn't as lengthy as V but it gives you solid exposure to pynchon's writing- which was my initial thought in posting it as a suggestion. be aware that any pynchon book you decide to pick up will be almost encyclopedic- full of esoteric references that will require some research if you choose to absorb it on that level. [i've read lot 49 four times and i still think i have yet to read it a number more. love it.]

here's a quick wiki:

Pynchon's second novel, The Crying of Lot 49, is also set in California. It was published in 1966, and won the Richard and Hilda Rosenthal Foundation Award. Although it is more concise and linear in its structure than Pynchon's other novels, its labyrinthine plot features an ancient, underground mail service known as "The Tristero" or "Trystero", a parody of a Jacobean revenge drama entitled The Courier's Tragedy, and a corporate conspiracy involving the bones of World War II American GIs being used as charcoal cigarette filters. It proposes a series of seemingly incredible interconnections between these and other similarly bizarre revelations that confront the novel's protagonist, Oedipa Maas. Like V., the novel contains a wealth of references to science and technology and to obscure historical events, and both books dwell upon the detritus of American society and culture. The Crying of Lot 49 also continues Pynchon's habit of composing parodic song lyrics and punning names, and referencing aspects of popular culture within his prose narrative. In particular, it incorporates several allusions to Nabokov's Lolita.



if you ultimately decide on picking V up, tony- this is a great reference site to help you along the way. let me know how it goes? i'm excited for you!
i would love to read that short story if its not too much trouble to type it up. it's not online already somewhere maybe? it could save you the trouble of typing it up if someone has done it already. but wow...that description of pynchon's work...wow...i get the feeling that i'm going to spend more time looking up references and what they mean and where they come from than the time spent reading the novels themselves...which are probably going to take quite some time on their own.

thanks for the reference site! i'm pretty sure i'll definitely need it. i'll let you know which pynchon book i ultimately decide to start with and let you know when i finish reading it. i think that short story would probably be the best introduction...just as a sort of preparation for the rest of pynchons work.


 
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