Do I need to read V before GR? Will I be completely lost if I jump right into GR after only having reading COL49?
Pynchons my fav writer for sure because my fav thing in books is goofs, gags, jokes and rambunctious behavior, and his books are full to the brim of it. Every novel is like one of those novelty snake cans, you open the book & POP you get a face fulla snakes and you fall back cackling. The mad mind, the crack genius, to do it! and then you think hmmm whats he gonna do next, this trickster, and you pick the book back up and BZZZZZZZZZZ you get a shock and Hahahahahah you've been pranked again by the old pynchmeister, that card. "Did that Pynch?" he says, laughing yukyukyukyuk. Watch him as he shoves a pair of plastic buck teeth right up into his mouth and displays em for you- left, right, center- "you like dese? Do i look handsome???" Pulls out a mirror. "Ah!" Hand to naughty mouth. And you're on your ass again laughing as he snaps his suspenders, exits stage right, and appears again hauling a huge golden gong.
Some say yes, some say no. I'd say read V. If you like it, it'll give you good will toward Pynchon that will help getting through the slow parts of GR. And if you end up hating Pynchon, then at least you found that out after reading a 500 page book, not a 1000 page one.
>>8268334
No. The only hurdle of GR is that people who just dive into it knowing nothing about Pynchon get turned off by his quirks. The book is probably a lot more easier to read than you think it is.
>>8268334
If you don't like V., you might still like GR, and vice-versa. So I'd say no, you don't need to read V. before GR. If you have read TCOL49 and you had no problems with the style, then why not read GR? Many people say that on your first reading you'll always be one paragraph behind. However, if you read attentively and, if necessary, occasionally reread parts, you should have no problem whatsoever with it. In my opinion, the book lends itself extraordinarily well to be partially reread, even within the first read.
>>8270531
Also, I forgot to mention that I think V. is a much weaker book than both TCOL49 and GR.
>>8268334
>need
no
>completely lost
what you would get in the way of help from V. would not prevent you from being lost in GR if you are to be lost in GR
>>8270562
What exactly prevented you from getting through it? Words? Comprehension?
>>8268334
COL49 is garbage compared to V. Read V.
i liked starting with V . . . partially because it was a good book, but also because some characters from V are also in GR and it makes it that much better imo
is bodine the greatest pynch character?
>>8270721
>slave girls getting whipped by sjamboks
literally one 50 page chapter
the rest of the book is nothing like this
i don't blame you though
Should I read Inherent Vice if I've read nothing by pynchon beforehand?
>>8272901
It's not a bad place to start.
>>8272901
inherent vice is fun, i liked it.
pretty easy to follow what there is to follow.
>>8273093
IV fucking sucks
>>8273544
>4
what did he mean by this?
>>8272182
no but fausto is
>>8272901
I liked it a hell of a lot more than Lot 49.
There are some repeating characters between the two, but nothing essential. Plus gravity's rainbow has V-2 rockets. V. ... V2 get it.
>>8268334
i'm currently reading V. it's not as enthralling or enrapturing as Gravity's Rainbow. i found GR to have brilliance in every page while V. is more tempered, as if Pynchon had yet to master the craft. very strong first novel but pales in comparison to what came after. however, the brief sequence that ends an early chapter where the reader is introduced to the V-Note club is up there with some of his best.
>>8272182
>is bodine the greatest pynch character?
Funny way to spell Weissmann.
>>8274410
Infinite Vice
