Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day

[wwidsith]

Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day

The early reviews I read of Against the Day were all a little bewildered, and gave me the distinct impression that a lot of reviewers had tried to skim-read this huge novel so they could get their articles written in time. It’s not an easy one to write up at all. It’s very long, very busy, and you come to it with all

Comments

[muse_books]

Wow this is an amazing review! It makes me want to rush out and buy the book though I hold myself back at the moment as I have far too much to read at present.

Did you know there was a Wiki for his work: http://against-the-day.pynchonwiki.com/. I think if do read it I shall be using such a site to help me keep track of characters. :)

I do think the job of reviewers is difficult. I follow 'The Guardian' book blogs and presented with over 1,000 pages isn't easy if you have a deadline. There was a review embargo on this book as well. I'm not sure if that meant they didn't send out review copies in advance or just that no one was allowed to publish reviews.

Edit: I read this on Wiki: was released November 21, 2006 and is 1,085 pages long in the first edition hardcover. The book was given almost no promotion by Penguin and professional book reviewers were given little time in advance to review the book, presumably in accord with Pynchon's wishes.I can imagine that

[wwidsith]

Thanks!

Part of me loves to see reviews of new books. But part of me wishes papers would be a bit braver, and publish their reviews later on but after they've had a chance to read the book with sufficient care. Never gonna happen though!

[signifiers]

This is such a brilliant review - I've never read anything of Pynchon (now watch as I am unanimously ejected from the community) but I've never wanted to as much as I do now.

[wwidsith]

Awesome! --though I'm not convinced this one is necessarily the best place to start..

[dariusk]

This is the best-written review I have read of AtD. And I've read a lot of them. Well done! And I couldn't agree more with your sentiments.

Although you should note that not ALL the women are submissive nymphomaniacs. Yashmeen is a dominant nymphomaniac.

[wwidsith]

Yes! She is the exception. And I think she's my favourite character.

[dariusk]

She's one of Pynchon's best characters, period. (Although as you say in your review, that may not be saying much.)

[wwidsith]

Yeah, it's like you're left with this very distinct impression, but it can't be reduced to the words on the page. Very bizarre..

[psychlops]

I've never wanted to read Pynchon- I always feel as though he must be incredibly pretentious and overly clever-for-the-sake-of-clever and all sorts of other things that are very hipster trademark and probably completely unfair, given that I have so little exposure to him, and are probably a bit of a spit in the face to the past two and a half years spent on my English degree to boot. But sometimes things just rub you the wrong way and there's no accounting for it.

This post, however, absolutely makes me want to read him immediately. Would you say that this one is a good place to start? Or should I start with something earlier? I like the quirky characters woven into complex arrangements that you describe, and the amazing quality of the phrases themselves that you quote, particularly the refreshing and unclichéd use of metaphor and simile.

Thanks for busting up my preconceived notions!

[wwidsith]

I would start with an earlier one personally. A lot of people say The Crying of Lot 49 is a good place to start just because it's so short, but personally I prefer him rambling on at length. I would suggest V. for early craziness, or Vineland, which is a later book that I think is a particularly underrated piece of genius. Let us know how you like it!

[flynd]

Personally, I'd start with Mason & Dixon if you want full-blown Pynchon. (I began with The Crying of Lot 49, which is shorter, less exhausting, and more coherent.)

He's overwhelming to read, and a hell of a lot of fun.