/lit/ - Literature

[green !YOUlQWt3s6 No.5225573]

is it worth it /lit/?

[Anonymous No.5225589]

>>5225573
no

[Anonymous No.5225594]

>>5225573
If if wasn't, you wouldn't be asking this question and intentionally cause an inb4 shitstorm.

[Anonymous No.5225597]

>>5225594
what

[Anonymous No.5225600]

For many, it isn't. For some, it is.

It depends on how much time and energy you are willing to invest.

P.S. Please drop trip. Nobody here cares who you are, and it's just a needless distraction.

[Anonymous No.5225601]

>>5225573
YES. At least read the first part of it before giving up, section two and three are a lot easier to read.

But I was hooked all the way through, and it was my first Pynchon.

[Anonymous No.5225604]

>>5225573
try the first section and see if you like it. or try crying of lot 49/v to see if you like his style. if you're into it you'll probably love it

it was worth it for me but it's one of my favorite books ever so ymmv

[Anonymous No.5225616]

Yes

Read it twice
First time, just understand what you can. If you have 0 fucking clue what he's talking about when it comes to Tchitcherine or Blicero or all of the last section, that is perfectly okay.

Second time it will make more sense and any research you choose to do (Pavlovian theory, German colonialism, the zodiac, Weimar republic and German Expressionist film, the Blitz and V-2 Program, Synthetic dyes, ETC) will help immensely.

it's probably my favorite book. I can't say much further than that whether you would like it, but as you can probably tell, it's a widely acclaimed work

[green !YOUlQWt3s6 No.5225618]

>>5225604
>>5225601
>>5225600
u guys r so nice :))

[green !YOUlQWt3s6 No.5225627]

>>5225616
what do the double SS tunnels mean?
I'm at that part, but I understand other parts too. My idea was DNA
Also I was wondering whether it was worth it to finish it ;)))

[The cats No.5225636]

>What sound does an eye-talian submarine make?

[Anonymous No.5225647]

>>5225627
they're a double integral sign

[Anonymous No.5225661]

don't get the penguin edition get the vintage one blah blah missing lines blah

[Anonymous No.5225663]

>>5225627
well as Pynchon explains, the SS symbol of the tunnels at the Mittelwerke also tie into the double integral symbol created by German mathematician Liebniz, as well as the ancient Nordic rune for Death. As you probably know, the symbol of the Nazi SS (apart from the two SSs, obviously) is the death's head. So the shape of the tunnels can be seen as an extension of the death-obsession of the Nazis, the rocket, and the war.

This extends to German/Nazi architect Albert Speer, (whose possibly fictional protege built the Mittelwerke compound iirc) who proprosed the architectural idea of Ruin Theory, which is building shit that would look nice as ruins (which ties into the Nazi/rocket/war obsession with death, decay, and ghosts (aka going "beyond the zero)).

I'm not a math guy so I can't say too much about what the connection to double integrals evokes.

But the double helix structure of DNA isn't too far fetched an interpretation, bc earlier in the text, at the Casino after Slothrop and Katje fuck, they cuddle afterwards in what Pynchon describes as a position of two SSs (can't find the page sorry). DNA, life, helices, fucking, etc

[green !YOUlQWt3s6 No.5225664]

>>5225647
which means what in the context of the novel?
there's so much to keep track of

[Anonymous No.5225667]

>>5225647
also the shape of two lovers in post-coital cuddle... oh how i miss Katje

[green !YOUlQWt3s6 No.5225669]

>>5225663
my brain holy moly im saving this thank you so much anon

[Anonymous No.5225670]

>>5225664
Just read the book d00d.

[Anonymous No.5225684]

>>5225664
>>5225663
the title Gravity's Rainbow refers to the trajectory of a rocket. if x(t) is the position function (the height of a rocket) you would integrate twice to get to a(t), the acceleration of the rocket, which is the acceleration due to gravity.

[Anonymous No.5225700]

>>5225684
oops sorry, other way around, you integrate twice from a(t) to get to x(t)

[Anonymous No.5225806]

>>5225684
>>5225700
so what's an integral? is it like a squared function or something?

do you have links that could explain it to a dummy who hasn't taken calculus yet?

[Anonymous No.5225833]

>>5225806
The intuitive idea is that an integral is a very important, some might even say integral.

[Anonymous No.5225836]

>>5225833

[Anonymous No.5225840]

>>5225806
it's going to be hard to fully understand it without a calculus background because the entire topic of calculus is derivatives and integrals.

this is pretty good: http://www.ugrad.math.ubc.ca/coursedoc/math101/notes/applications/velocity.html but if you really want to understand that you probably need to read a calculus book. sorry that's the best I can do

[Anonymous No.5227296]

I started this book recently.

I've heard this version was fucked? I bought it before knowing that, and I saw a thread the other day on here talking about how it was the worst one to get.

Anyone care to explain? Without spoiling too much, if that matters.

dat poop scene.

[Anonymous No.5227353]

>>5227296
it's not that fucked. unless you can get a different copy for under $10 with minimum effort, don't sweat it

[Anonymous No.5227366]

Well yes but conditionally
you should know you're getting into a literary psychosis infused acid trip

It's very incomprehensible at parts and leaves you feeling very empty, yet nobody on earth seems able to answer the questions that would have you feel any different

ask about anything specific or nonsensical and people give you a vague beat-around-the-bush answer or tell you "YOU DON'T GET IT IT'S NOT SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE" and while that may be sufficent for some questions others that should have simple answers just won't and will bother you

it's hilarious and has some crazy imagery though, so I do reccomend it as long as you know what you're doing

[Anonymous No.5227369]

>>5225573
If only for arcane WWII stuff

[Anonymous No.5227371]

>>5227296
One sentence is missing. Some intentionally broken grammar/spelling is fixed.

I think you still get 'sez' though.

Probably doesn't make a huge difference to the average reader, people here just like to blow it up bigger than it is.

[Anonymous No.5227389]

>>5227353
>>5227371
Ok cool. That's good to hear.

So far it's been Pavlovian baby boner science