Rating: 
Summary: Funny, well-written, but notoriously difficult
Review: There is a lot here. It is not quick reading. It is very dense. But if you put the required effort into it, this book will set your mind on fire.Pynchon is clearly brilliant; too bad that we, his readers, often aren't. Rather than blame Pynchon for this book's difficulty, however, perhaps we should blame ourselves. I needed to look up many references in this book, and found it quite educational -- not just in WW2 history, but also in physics and mathematics. If I knew as much as Pynchon does, I could've breezed through this novel. As it stands, with my limited intellectual capacity, I had to go to reference books a lot (I read this before there was a WWW!), and still didn't understand many of his allusions... but managed to enjoy, learn, and laugh with Pynchon, and after finishing this novel, I felt as if I had given my brain the workout of a lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: a screaming comes across your mind's sky...
Review: forget mdma. forget lsd. forget religious fervor. if you want to sample a mind-altering substance, buy this book and read it. don't be discouraged-most can't finish it the first time they try. quitting smoking is easier than getting past page 100 of this novel, but it isn't as satisfying. the mindless pleasures that await you will more than make up for some of the difficulties you may encounter. buy it, throw it in your backpack or briefcase and carry it around and read a paragraph at time, if need be. write notes in the margins. keep it by your bed, and even if it takes you 9 months to read, by god make sure you read it! you owe it to rocketman...
Rating:
Summary: Whine and complain if you want...
Review: ... but I'm 15 and I absolutely loved this damn book. I'm not a child prodigy or a genuis or anything like that either, I just enjoy good writers and good writing, and that's all here in strides. Sure it's hard and complex, and if you're just wanting something to read on the beach or something disposable to get you to sleep at night, then don't come here. But if you're up for the challenge and love a great story, then you shouldn't have any problems. I like what William Gass said in his introduction to the Penguin 20th Century Classics edition of William Gaddis' The Recognitions about how you shouldn't strive to finish it in one gigantic sitting, but you should take your time (months, years, decades) and allow the book to become a kind of friend that you can pick up and visit whenever you feel in the mood. That applies to this phenomonal book as well, and I have to admit it took me over half a year to finish it myself, as I often took month long breaks and read other material. This is a book to be bought and returned too, not simply just another book you pick up at the library. And as far as my take on the novel, I take it to be a representation of the world after the events that take place in the story. From the drug use to the birth of a mechanical world with computers and new and more deadly forms of war fare, it all represents to me what would come after and even maybe because of World War II. Well, that's the only conclusion that I could come too in order to explain the confounding ending at least (the movie theater and allusions to Nixon). But aside from the deeper meanings, this novel is a drug induced thrill ride. There are so many great action scenes and dialouges in the book, that it's overwhelming to have to go back after your through and too pick out your favirotes. I loved the chase sequences after Slothrop, the scenes of Roger and Jessica alone at night in bed as the Rockets descended upon their city, the incredible opening allusions, the heartbreaking last appearance of Roger at the dinner as he finally comes to grips with the reality that he lost the one he loved, the crazy, cinematic, and beautiful ending, and on, and on, and on. If you're serious about reading and Literature, this is a must. This book has more to offer then any other I've ever come across, and if you're willing to put up a lot of effort, you will be rewarded. (And hey, I've read that Pynchon didn't even understand a lot of what he wrote as he was at the time of writing it ... on various drugs... it was the early 70's after all).
Rating: 
Summary: Great If You Are Freezing To Death & Need Something To Burn
Review: I simply cannot believe that so many people have given this novel (or antinovel?) a 5 star rating. The rabid nature of his cultish fans is unnerving to say the very least. "A puzzle wrapped in an enigma fried up in a conundrum with Hot Chinese Mustard dipping sauce" is about the best way I can describe this book, and I only give it two stars rather than one because of the humor and obvious intelligence (or lunacy) of the author. The text on its own is absolutely labrynthine. I was reminded of James Joyce, but found this slightly more readable. I came across it in a random fashion...it was recommended to me by no one and was not assigned in any course. I tend to pride myself on my education; tending to know at least a little bit on a multitude of subjects, and having studied vigorously neuroscience, chemistry, genetics, philosophy, medieval history, art, literature, psychology and antrhopology as both an undergraduate and graduate student. More often than not, I "got" what he was driving at. However, the complete loss of context which occurs every few pages in a miasma of tangential dialouge is at once tiring and wholly unnecessary. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I don't want to have to slog through a book just to avoid the guilt of having bought the damn thing only to leave it sitting on my bookshelf, a testament to my lack of wit or perseverence. So, having shelled out the 18 bucks for the paperback, I read it. I usually gain something from any book I read, but from this I only take with me the masochistic and perverse sense of satisfaction which comes from doing something distasteful which most do not have the fortitude to finish. I can only say I have felt this way about one other book- Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco (although I read it when I was much younger-maybe it isn't quite so bad). If you loved GR, I encourage you to try your hand at Eco's Pendulum, but have a dictionary close by your favorite reading chair... So, to conclude, read this book only if you enjoy that sick literature challenge of "Can I REALLY read the whole bloody thing?". Good luck to those of you who accept...consider yourself duly warned!
Rating: 
Summary: Curious. jansisdigger@yahoo.com
Review: I really enjoyed this work, having just wound my way through it again with the Companion. I find alarming, however, the cult-mystique that readers have towards writers. The weird, shifty phrases they utilize in their reviews; very irreverent towards the artist, methinks. It is dangerous to think such a way. Leave the poor man be. 'Tis only art. Please don't overintellectize it any more than it already has been. And on a side note, I'd love to speak to you sometime, Mr. Pynchon, if only as a friend.
Rating:
Summary: Third time's the charm
Review: I recently finished my third reading of Gravity's Rainbow. The first time around, I was focused purely on the novel's plot (or for some people, the lack thereof); the second reading was for a class; this last reading was probably the most entertaining one, though i don't think it should take three readings for everyone, just me. Anyway, here's what i learned this time around: I think it's important to read Pynchon as a surprisingly sentimental writer who cares about his characters, despite their eccentricities and maladjustments. Various passages of the novel like the Christmas service which Jessica and Roger stumble onto, or Slothrop's last scene of "feeling natural" are complex, delicate, but intensely beautiful examples of Pynchon's prosaic skill and the great deal of care with which he situates his characters during moments of epiphany or transition. I think a lot of people get turned off by Pynchon's ostensible disregard for morality or literary formality; in actuality, he's a very sensitive writer. I was also able to eschew the need for doing readerly detective work of my own this time; there really aren't much answers to the novel's paranoid queries. I think the plot synopsis at Amazon.com is pretty much as clear as it gets. But getting rid of plot expectations is actually quite liberating, and I've discovered that GR is really more a process than a story. I hope other readers, even those who bashed Pynchon in the past, might give him a chance without projecting expectations onto him; there's so much to be discovered in this book and all it takes is an open and willing mind (and probably fewer than three readings!).
Rating:
Summary: Just About Perfect
Review: This detailed, beautifully written post-modern black comedy polarizes readers in the same way Ulysses does -- except Gravity's Rainbow is probably more accessible and rewarding for most audiences. If reading a book quickly and for fast entertainment is your approach, then its accumulation of characters, themes, and history probably won't find purchase in your imagination. My first reading took half a year -- reading little else -- and while I can't claim 100% understanding of all its references, it's hard to deny that it's an amazing treat for serious readers. It's hard to imagine a modern reader would pass up the opportunity to read this for the first, or even a second time.
Rating:
Summary: How can you have any Pudding if you'd own teacher meat?
Review: What can I say? First offered to me as a challenge to read by a rather contentious and competetive colleague who "couldn't" complete it; I was coerced by a strong desire to consume GR in its entirety. Since that time, my exposure to the work of TP has enriched me as only fine art can. I now look at life, and time, and history as I had thought I "understood" it; quite differently. Ah! The "I" of the beholder! I don't recommend this novel to everyone I know, but I seriously believe that anyone could and would be a better person if they were able to reconcile their own life's experiences with some of the themes so artfully portrayed in GR.
Rating: 
Summary: Gravity's Rainbow
Review: The emperor has no clothes! The book is self indulgant and unreadable.
Rating:
Summary: Is the world finally catching up to Pynchon?
Review: For years, I've been warned off this book, told that it is too difficult and incomprehensible. I foolishly stayed away. Last Thursday I picked it up and haven't been able to get it out of my life since. This is a book that invades your consciousness ... you can dream Gravity's Rainbow if you read it too fast. Don't be dissuaded by those who compare it to Ulysseys or other books you must decode: Gravity's Rainbow is very readable. Perhaps the first 70 pages are the hardest, but once you get the hang of it, all bicycle metaphors are appropriate. It's been said that the world still hasn't caught up to Pynchon, but I'm not so sure. The mix of absurdity and profundity is everywhere today ... X-Files, Brazil, TC Boyle, The Matrix. As much as I admire Don DeLillo and William Gaddis, I can't imagine they'd write the way they do today without the Pynchon influence. The path has been cleared, don't be afraid ...
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