Shadow Ticket

penguinrandomhouse.com

11 points·CaesarA··5 comments

I've read four Thomas Pynchon novels, probably the shortest and most accessible four:

The Crying of Lot 49, Bleeding Edge, Inherent Vice, and Vineland.

I have Gravity's Rainbow and Against The Day sitting in my bookcase, intimidating me with their voluminousity. I dare not start them for fear of how long they will take to finish.

Despite this, I look forward to any new Pynchon publications. This new one will take its place on my bookshelf, no doubt.

P.S. Inherent Vice is a great movie. Somewhat of a spiritual sequel to The Big Lebowsky.

Interesting, I'll check one of those other books out. The library I go to only ever seems to have his doorstoppers on the shelf.

Entirely subjectively:

Bleeding Edge is a big book, but very easy to read for Pynchon. Crying is tiny, but dense. Vineland isn't huge but I found it hard going (but entertaining and worthwhile). Inherent Vice is a similar size to Vineland but an easier read.

Against the Day is by far my favorite. It has the same sweep-of-history as Gravity's Rainbow and some others of his epics but I think it's the one where I actually feel for the characters more than them being mostly a vehicle for the historical braiding.

Probably the best to lead into Shadow Ticket too since that is pre-WWI.

Huh. Mere beginner. 12 years since his last work and Vikram Seth is watching on, from 1999 with the next one "just around the corner"

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