Michael’s Comments (group member since Mar 11, 2013)

Michael’s comments from the Thomas Pynchon group.

Angelo wrote: "Have you guys read The Tunnel, by William H. Gass? That was some intense reading and I got a lot of Pynchon style on his writing. I truly recommend it, although it's a heavy book with a dark plot.
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Just started reading The Tunnel -- it's been on my to-read list for a few years now.

Alexander, also my favorite three Pynchon -- Against the Day, Mason & Dixon, and the one that started it all for me, Gravity's Rainbow. GR is what hooked me way back in the 1970s -- I read it, liked it, but didn't understand much. However, it was a mind-worm, which worked its way through my brain over the years, always drawing me back to reread it. And so I did, and each time I understood more, enjoyed and appreciated it more.

I loved Mason & Dixon. It's become one of my favorite Pynchon novels. Initially I thought the arcane language would be a barrier, a bridge too far. However, to my surprise it didn't take long before I stopped noticing it. It became second nature, just part of the flow of the novel. Not saying everyone would have this experience.

I'm expecting my copy tomorrow (or Saturday at the latest), and am looking forward to savoring every page.

I just completed AtD and loved it. I had only read GR before that, three or four times going back to about 1973. I recently reread GR and then decided to tackle the rest of Pynchon's work, starting with AtD. I followed that up with Crying of Lot 49, then Mason & Dixon, Inherent Vice, Vineland, and finally, V. which I am reading now.

I find myself having a difficult time with V., more than any of his other novels. That's not to say I'm not enjoying it, but I haven't found the "flow" just yet, at about 100 pages in. While it's clearly Pynchon, I find his style quite a bit different from his later work.

I will continue my journey in search of V. and report back later. Glad to have found this group!