Brad’s Comments (group member since Jun 26, 2009)

Brad’s comments from the Gravity's Rainbow group.

I think it is just letting yourself get immersed in Pynchon's style. He really throws you into the action and doesn't waste any time with exposition, and his descriptions are uncommonly rich, which is often a bit of a shock, but I wouldn't say so for someone who's just read Proust. I should think you would make the transition without any trouble.

I think for me, by the time I reached Section 2 I was just nice and comfy and then it really clipped along.

Hunter wrote: "I'm around 420 pages into my first attempt. While I never aborted, it took me weeks to get through part one and only about another week to get through the next 250 pages or so." At 450 you are most certainly through. Nice work. That jibes with the time I finished it. The first section requires so much concentration that it is the place where it is easy to give up, once I got out of that it flew.

I haven't heard of anyone to get through Gravity's Rainbow on their one and only try (but, of course, they must be out there). A much more common experience is the "aborted attempt". I had two aborted attempts before I finally finished the book for the first time in 2003, and I started reading it again this weekend only to have to abort my most recent attempt.

I've got two five year olds running around my house, and I realized that even the quiet moments I thought I could steal enough time to read in aren't quiet around here, and I just can't concentrate. So 1 finish out of four attempts. That's not so bad, I suppose.

Mosca wrote: "I'm going to risk this set of comments in the "No Spoilers" thread. If anyone thinks these are spoilers, please delete, or alert me to delete these comments.

One of the more striking experiences..."

Beautifully said, Mosca. That totally nails exactly what I love most about Pynchon. I don't even no how to respond beyond that.

Shannon wrote: "Brad wrote: "Nice work bringing people into the fold, Megha.

Good to have you aboard Rose and Shannon (you sound like an experienced Pynchophile, Shannon. How many times have you dipped into Grav..."

You are going to be an awesome person to have around then, Shannon.

I do that too. I usually pick dross so that I can just relax. Some poor fantasy of the Salvatore persuasion usually works well for me.

Mosca wrote: "WI've also found that this book is anything but a linear read. I've never been able to go from page 1 numerically through the book. It seems necessary to continually return to earlier portions to re-read and find what was missed the first time. I love it! But a complete reading to the end becomes a challenge, to say the least..."

That's my experience too, Mosca. I have even toyed with the idea (when I finally finished it) of going back and reading it backwards. I wonder what that would be like?

Nice work bringing people into the fold, Megha.

Good to have you aboard Rose and Shannon (you sound like an experienced Pynchophile, Shannon. How many times have you dipped into Gravity's Rainbow?)

I have finished it once, but it took three starts to get there. So this is my fourth go.

I have tried to put aside researching the allusions because I thought it would be easier, but I was never able to do it. Of course, I still haven't gotten all of the allusions.

Sweet. That's going to be an awesome resource, Mosca.

Yeah, I'm with you there. He is just a master with this prose, and if you are willing to put in the work it is incredibly rewarding.

Yes indeed. I'll go fix that right now.

Here's the place to talk about Slothrop and any other characters you want to discuss. Please start a new thread for each new character you want to talk about.

If there is something you bumped into while you were reading Gravity's Rainbow that made you go "huh?" and run to your computer or your encyclopedia or anywhere else for an explanation, you can add it here.

Add a title, give us all the explanation, and then we can all refine the explanation as we go, or even discuss the significance in the newly created thread.

From Gravity's Rainbow: "Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation. Everything science has taught me, and continues to teach me, strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death." --Werner von Braun

Werner von Braun was an integreal part of Nazi weapons development, including the V2 rockets, and a driving force in the early days of NASA in the USA. Follow the link for more on him: Werner von Braun

Hi everyone.

Mosca inspired this group (thanks Mosca), and we hope it will take off and provide an ongoing discussion of Pynchon's masterpiece. Moreover, we are hoping that this group will help to light a fire under anyone who has been putting this book off or has run into repeated stuttering starts.

Please try and keep your comments on topic as much as you can within threads. We will be adding folders and threads for all sorts of socializing and peripheral discussion, but we want to make sure that the book discussions themselves remain as focused as possible.

Any questions? Ask them right here.

And here is the obvious companion thread.

I am guessing you can all see where I am going with all this, but this is the place for focused discussion, sans spoilers, for all things relating to Section One.

Spoil away. Say whatever you want and have no fear about spoiling things.

Here's the best place to start. See what we're saying about Gravity's Rainbow and Pynchon with no fear of spoilage.