A dissenting voice

[Hunter Felt]

While I understand that "Gravity's Rainbow" is regarded as Pynchon's finest, 
I have to strongly disagree with anyone trying to say that an easier novel 
might put off a new reader because they aren't as "mindbogglingly great" 
(although I would say that Crying of Lot 49, while it may not be as rich and 
dense and grand as Gravity's Rainbow is still mindbogglingly great by any 
possible standards of measurement, including comparisons to GR.)

Let me use an analogy.  Let's say someone has never heard The Rolling 
Stones.  (Which is pretty much impossible these days, but this is just as an 
example.)  My first desire would be, clearly, to talk about how "Exile on 
Main Street" is their absolute best album, one of the greatest albums in 
rock and roll history, and should be bought first.

However, it's also dense, difficult, messy, and not immediately grabbing.  
It would probably turn off many potential fans.  While best-ofs (say "Hot 
Rocks") or some of their less sprawling, more hit-filled albums, 
("Aftermath" or "Beggars Banquet," let's say) might be less satisfying 
overall, they make better introductions.

"Gravity's Rainbow" is the same way.  Sure, it's all great, but it's 
complicated, very complicated, very experimental, very long, and does not 
have the immediate "hooks" of "Crying of Lot 49" or "V." (Well, okay, 
there's the toilet crawl and the English Candy Drill, but they take a while 
to reach.(  Sure, some of you may have read it first and been blown away, 
but for every one of you, I guarantee that there were many, many others who 
started with "Gravity's Rainbow" only to throw it down in confusion and 
delcare Pynchon terrible.

You have to train your appetite to appreciate something. It's a common 
practice when approaching Joyce to read his works in order, to prepare 
oneself.  This makes the first "Ulysses" reading much less stressful and 
confusing.  I like the idea of starting with "Lot 49" or "V." (although 
that's not coherent enough to be a great work, it's an easier introduction), 
before approaching the "Rainbow."

In fact I read "Gravity's Rainbow" before "V." (I had one in my possession, 
and not the other), and I regret it in retrospect, because many of the 
characters, themes, and situations in "V." are brought up in transformed 
form in "Gravity's Rainbow."  Without knowledge of Weissman, Pig Bodine, the 
Herero, etc., I was lost way more than I thought I would be.  Pynchon wrote 
"Gravity's Rainbow" as a pseudo-sequel to "V." (or perhaps, a grand 
rewrite), and I feel like he expects the reader to have some knowledge of 
"V." before hand.  I know it would have helped me immensely.

This is just my opinion, I just think people here are too familiar with GR 
that they just forget what a difficult task it is to read the damn thing for 
the first time.  (Don't elieve any one who says it isn't a dense and 
difficult read.)

But you should read it.  I'm planning to re-read it again as soon as my 
reading schedule will allow (it's looking like this summer).  Heck, you 
should also listen to "Exile on Main Street" while you're at it.  They 
aren't all too disimilar in certain aspects.


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