[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 22 KB, 318x475, Mason_n_dixon.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3014071 No.3014071 [Reply] [Original]

Hello /lit/,

I am looking to read my first Pynchon book fairly soon, and am wondering which one to begin with. I already own Gravity's Rainbow (which I am not going to read first) and The Crying of Lot 49. I was reading a synopsis of Mason and Dixon and it sounds like it would hold more interest for me than either of the two I already own, purely for the premise.

Should I attempt to read Mason and Dixon first, or is The Crying of Lot 49 an easier way to begin with Pynchon? Or indeed, are there any other Pynchon books to be recommended as a starting point?

>> No.3014085

The Crying of Lot 49 for sure. It requires less of a commitment, less stamina...much easier as an intro, even though it's far from his best.

Don't get me wrong, M&D is absolutely fantastic, but it is also difficult and long. I wouldn't recommend it as your first Pynchon. When you do read it, make sure you've got the wiki and the guide open on the side. You're going to miss gigantic parts of it without them.

>> No.3014087

The way people treat Pynchon, Joyce and the rest of /lit/'s 13 highschool/undergraduate authors as if they're a complex ritualized rite of passage is creepy

I'M ABOUT TO START MY VONNEGUT SO I CAN HOPEFULLY MOVE ON TO MY PYNCHONS

>> No.3014106

Just read Mason & Dixon along with this - http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/levy_mason_and_dixon.pdf - and you'll be fine. TCOL49 is pretty boring in comparison.

>> No.3014131

>>3014106
http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/pschmid1/engl52b/m-d1.html

This one's good too. And the pynchonwiki of course.

>> No.3014136

Mason and Dixon is the greatest american novel.

Crying of Lot 49 requires to be read twice to be understood/appreciated.

Mason and Dixon is difficult but immensely rewarding.

>> No.3014167

>>3014087
someone puts forth their plausible but ultimately constricting opinion that there's an order in which you should always read authors, as fact, gullible idiot sees opinion put forth as fact, takes it as fact,
spreads the 'fact' to more gullible idiots
pretty soon u have /lit/ and:
READ CRYING LOT OF 49 FIRST BUT READ IT TWICE ITS VERY COMPLEX THEN READ MASON DIXON BUT USE THE GUIDE AND THEN AND ONLY THEN ARE U READY FOR GRAVITY'S RAINBOW, O DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT JOYCE YET

>> No.3014172

>>3014167
Is it really that inconceivable that one may want to climb a metaphorical ladder of complexity and difficulty instead of jetpacking to the roof? Could it not be the case that here is value in the journey and not simply the destination? That previous experience can help you appreciate certain things more deeply?

>> No.3014248

>>3014167
i do think crying of lot 49 needs to be read twice, just like the sound and the fury

calm your jimmies, op can do what he wants

i'd say Mason & Dixon will appeal to people who aren't necessarily fans of pynchon's work. It's a difficult book and I don't think reading lots of Pynchon will make it not difficult.

It's still the greatest American novel.

>> No.3015273

I've read Crying of Lot 49 and Inherent Vice
Trudging my way uphill on broken glass through Gravity's Rainbow right now
Crying of Lot 49 is a great entry point, but if you have no idea what you're doing, Inherent Vice is an extremely easy and enjoyable read

>> No.3015293

>>3014136
>Mason and Dixon is the greatest american novel.

No it isn't.

>> No.3015295

>>3015273
>Trudging my way uphill on broken glass through Gravity's Rainbow right now

Honestly dude, despite the purple prose and shitty editing it is enjoyable, fun popular lit. I mean come the fuck on, it's just a novel, you're not reading biblical exegesis or something.

>> No.3015307

>>3015295
Oh, I'm definitely enjoying it, but fuck me if it isn't challenging
I feel lost and have no idea what's going on like 33% of the time
This is the most trouble I've ever had reading

>> No.3015309

Read by publishing order. Starting with V. and making your way to Inherent Vice