Disappointed

[Ian Livingston]

A rapid read of Pynchon must always be disappointing, imho.  There is
so much one skims over, reading the plot and skimming the allusions.
Kind of like reading Murakami without an understanding of Japanese
culture, we enjoy the story but don't really *get* it.  It may be that
at some level TRP is aping Robbins' light reads, but there is more.
Always more.  I look forward to a deep read but, as I dive into the
semester ahead, I expect to be too busy to follow the group read this
time.  Have to be a lurker....

On Mon, Aug 10, 2009 at 8:28 AM, Toby Levy<tobyglevy at gmail.com> wrote:
> I finished Inherent Vice yesterday and I'm not going to pretend I wasn't
> disappointed.
>
> I found it to be like a Tom Robbins novel.  Not that there's anything wrong
> with that, but I expected more, I expected better.
>
> I will say that the first reading of a Pynchon novel is not the end of the
> evaluation process for me.  I remember the shock of disappointment I felt
> when I first finished Vineland, and I have come to greatly appreciate the
> book now that I've read it three or four times.
>
> Vineland suffered following a masterpiece like Gravity's Rainbow, and IV
> suffers from following Against the Day, which is an incredible book, a work
> of genius IMHO.
>
> Toby
>