"Against the Day", Thomas Pynchon - 2015 / 2016 discussion

This discussion covers Part 5: "Rue du Départ".

Finished the book. I will wait for the group to post comments or write a review.

Woot!! Attaboy, Dave. :)

Any general feeling/thought upon getting to the end of it?

Relief. I thought it was too long.

Wow, Dave, that was ultra fast! I'm sorry it wasn't as good as expected though. I'm absolutely loving it and should finish it in about a week or so.

Renato, since this was my first Pynchon I really didn't have any expectations. I signed on to the read because you invited me and you make groups fun. As I mentioned I got into reading Gravity's Rainbow while anticipating this read. I set GR aside after getting into ATD because I was more drawn to GR and I didn't want that to color my experience here. I look forward to reading others comments.

On a separate note you will probably be amused to learn that I went to ISOLT a couple of weeks ago to check a quote and ended up reading 40 pages! I need to put a sticker on it - CAUTION, DO NOT OPEN UNLESS YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME (if you don't have time, Proust will set you to work searching for it)

GR is known as his masterpiece... I think I'll save it for later... take a look at Mason and Dixon. Read it some months ago, really really great book.

And risking to be tempted to read yet again, I have to ask: what was the quote you were looking for? :-)

"Weary, resigned, occupied for several hours still with its immemorial task, the grey day stitched its shimmering needlework of light and shade, and it saddened me to think that I was to be left alone with a thing that knew me no more than would a seamstress who, installed by the window so as to see better while she finishes her work, pays no attention to the person present with her in the room." In chapter two of Guermantes Way. Ebook so I can't give page.

As far as I am concerned: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I got a little more joy than Leonard. It was helpful for me to take a month long break in the middle. I got hungry again to follow the fate of the Traverse clan and got more tolerance for overextended goofiness. It helped to be a sci fi fan and ongoing interest in how modern physics and math gets interpreted in stories and imagination.

Against the Day review