Rating: 
Summary: Time to start reading philosophy
Review: Let's face it. You can only accomplish so much within the fiction format. If Thomas Pychon actually had a rational and potentially useful philosophy to expound, he should have done so with clearly written non-fiction prose. As it is, all we have is a chopped-up short-story collection. There's really nothing too difficult about following the plots; most of these subplots seem to be functioning completely independently of one another and the reader should try to just digest the segments as if they were short stories. Don't get bogged down or confused because you don't have a firm grasp on who the characters are or what they're doing. It does not really matter, because Pynchon has obviously chosen to forego the idea of characterization in this novel. However, that is not always a bad thing. Samuel Beckett has proven that characterization is not essential to a novel. Pynchon also succeeds, at times. The main bright spots in this book are the philosophical diatribes which are the most important parts of the novel, but are almost entirely disconnected with all the other occurances in the novel. One such stand-alone segment is the part on "Byron the Bulb". I really liked that section, and a few others like it. My only problem with this book is that the whole thing should have been like the Byron the Bulb segment. Many parts of the book seem almost pointless compared to other, more profound parts. Often there is a very interesting and profound segment shoehorned in amongst a bunch of filler. Why not take out the filler and write an entire book of profound social commentaries? If Pynchon had done this, it may have just ended up being a very good philosophical book. The type of person who wants to read _Gravity's Rainbow_ obviously is looking for a challenge, and wants to "learn something". Trouble is, this book is not that challenging and is only a moderately enriching learning experience. This book is not quite the feather in the cap people think it is. If you want a real challenge read _Beezlebub's Tales to his Grandson_ by Gurdjieff, or _The World as Will and Representation_ by Shopenhauer. Go ahead and try it - I dare you. Then we'll see what you're really made of. _Gravity's Rainbow_ is light beach-reading fluff compared to those books.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure virtuosity
Review: Pynchon has come to be THE post-modern author, at least in the public sense (which is tremendously ironic); most think of him as the main author of importance of the style. Which makes sense, as he invented a new way to write. And that's sort of the problem with people who approach GR with the mindset of reading a book with a plot that goes from point A to point B while teaching one little lesson. That's not how GR works at all; Pynchon visits many points, loops back geographically and chronologically, and shows readers many truths on their journey. And yet that description does little justice to how the novel really works as a piece of literature--although it may seem disconnected to the "real" world, the main way the novel works is direct communication with readers. The plots and characters don't work as small universes for us to look in on in hopes of understanding our lives allegorically through theirs. The characters communicate with us directly, the book insinuates itself into our lives as an entity like a person encountered in life, a person full of stories and viewpoints and illnesses and strengths. This isn't a book that's read and put on the shelf, it's intended to change the way we view our world by becoming a part of it. That tends to freak people out, I think, and they end up thinking it's a bad book because it can't be understood like books have been for a long time. The absurdism and realism that alternate and sometimes co-habitate the book are the absurdism and realism of our lives, and Pynchon doesn't try to limit himself to one "artistic vision"--instead, he tries to tell the truth. And I believe he succeeds. Brilliantly and beautifully.
Rating:
Summary: Advice For a First Time Reader of Gravity's Rainbow
Review: Gravity's Rainbow is a book you either love or hate, and if you hate it it's probably because you couldn't finish the ... thing. Though by no means impenetrable, the novel is daunting enough to merit a list of tips for those wishing to tackle it for the first time. Below is my advice on how new readers can get over the hump. Trust me, it's a small hump, and the masterpiece that lies on the other side is worth the effort. 1. Read V first... Pynchon's V is shorter and more accessible than Gravity's Rainbow, but addresses the same themes in a similar style. If you enjoyed V, you will have built up a reserve of goodwill for Pynchon that will carry you through the initial rough patches of Gravity's Rainbow. This advice was given to me years ago, and I'm glad I took it. 2. Accept that you won't understand everything...Don't be concerned if you can't follow the many digressions or keep track of every minor character that pops up. As with other famously difficult novels, Gravity's Rainbow's real payoff comes in the rereading, so you shouldn't feel obliged to linger over each passage until it makes sense. Pynchon isn't trying to lord it over you by writing a book this dense; it's just his way of giving you your money's worth. Just follow what you can the first time through, which fortunately is a lot. 3. Accentuate the accessible...Gravity's Rainbow's unreadability is over-hyped. Yes, there are many jarring digressions, but threading through them is a fairly conventional detective story. Sure there are lyrical passages that take off for the stratosphere, but they are grace notes in a melody of otherwise breezy narrative prose. So on your first time through, it's enough to follow the main plot (will Slothrop find the mysterious Rocket 00000?) and enjoy Pynchon's jokes, which are laugh-out-loud funny.
4. Don't give up too early...I don't want to say that Gravity's Rainbow gets off to a slow start, but it has a lot of scene-setting to do, and the engine that really drives the book along only gets revved up in part 2. Part 1 is a well-executed minor key portrait of wartime London, but part 2 is where the drugs kick in, so stick with the novel at least that far.
Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype
Review: I believe this GR's reputation for pretentiousness and difficulty is overrated. You do not have to read it to "prove you are a genius" (one of the reviews below). Anyone should be able to appreciate, for example, the opening description of a guy sauteeing bananas in the middle of the War. The only difficult thing about the book is that it is long -- the prose is actually pretty simple, and at times inspired and powerful. Yes, there are loads of obscure historical/cultural references, but you do not have to know them all to get the main message of the book. If you approach GR with an open mind you'll see that it is simply a brilliant commentary on the social and cultural problems of the postwar era. If you're at all concerned with problems like war, imperialism, alienation, etc, check this book out.
Rating:
Summary: fascinating, however not necessarily entertaining
Review: For the first 20 pages or so, I struggled. Everything after that is a blur. The memories of events that occurred are stacked in my head in a way that no other information is stored. I know of events, but I don't know who was involved, or in what sequence they happened. I can only come to the conclusion that this was intended, however much I hate attempting to understand author's intentions, only because usually the intention is obvious. Not so here. When I first decided to read Gravity's Rainbow, I did it to prove to myself that I'm a genius. I felt this way up until about half way through, when my own genius was boring me. I began to feel an itch for more entertainment, and the book just wasn't hearing my plea. At this point, I also realized that I'm not a genius because I was half way through and I hadn't a clue what the book was about. I continued reading because I've never not finished a book in my life, once started. I suppose I marveled at the idea of the 'beauty of incomprehension'. But this idea soon got old. There are very compelling scenes in this book, yet they lack something that links them all together. Each chapter could just be it's own short story. Also, this was only my first reading, and I know that to honestly crit any piece of literature, one must re-read multiple times, however I must make due simply because I probably won't re-read this for another ten years or so. I didn't give this book five stars because, even though it's probably the most unique experience I've ever had reading a book, it was just too convoluted. I didn't give it one star because the literature is beautiful and I understood a lot of the esoteric references to electronics and science, myself being an engineer, and he does create an interesting blend of art and science. It's one of those books you should read for the experience, not to be entertained.
Rating:
Summary: Different books for different people
Review: Depending on what area of society your mind is focused on, this massive novel will make sense in some areas, and completely bewilder you in others. If you have read accounts of mind control, government-provoked paranoia, then this book will read as the "story behind the story" of the world. If you are a WWII buff, then the story of the V2 rocket and its "impact" (bad pun...) on the world will resonate. This book probably doesn't even make COMPLETE sense to its author- an annotated version of this book on a computer would make more sense, but would take a supercomputer to hold it all. Enjoy it for the words, ideas and omens. It is not a 200 page Dean Knootz piece of fluff, as digestable as a wendys hamburger. This is "reading for pleasure" pushed to the limits, but if you make the journey, you will grow.
Rating: 
Summary: Incoherent.
Review: The book is written in a train-of-thought style that keeps steering you away from the plot. The tangents Pynchon goes off on are not essential in the least. I'm convinced this book could be an interesting 100 page novel if all that excess verbage were excised.
Rating:
Summary: Does he?
Review: If he reads these reviews, Pynchon must have a helluva good time.
Rating:
Summary: It's a trip all right.
Review: Although Amazon's practice of surrepticiously culling negative reviews is repugnant and wholly unacceptable, I nonetheless feel a certain sense of relief that the old, wrongheaded 'review' of Gravity's Rainbow which I penned--at the tender age of nineteen--has disappeared into the aether. That's not something anyone needs to see. A little older, a little wiser; now that I've *really* read GR, I can only agree with the majority opinion: surely, this is one of the best novels I have read. Is it a difficult read? Yes. Kind of. Well, it depends on how you're approaching it, really. If you are easily discouraged, or you have a strong preconception about the manner in which novels should work, defeat is inevitable. There are passages that you will not 'understand' upon first reading, if ever. There are scientific, historical, and cultural references that will not be familiar to you (Stephen Weisenburger's companion is a useful, if flawed, resource in this regard). The ending will confuse and unnerve you. What I'm saying is, this is not a book that you will dominate. It's certainly 'easier,' at first blush, than Ulysses, but its mysteries are more difficult to crack. You must treat it like a friend, not an enemy, to appreciate it. So why should you even try, if you know you won't be able to fold it into a neat little packet and smoothly file it away in your brain? Because it's beautiful. Even in passages that you don't 'get,' you must surely at least appreciate the language, if you're at all sensitive to the English language. Because it's funny. If you don't laugh out loud at the 'English candies' section, what the hell is wrong with you? Because it brilliantly evokes the fragmented, baffling, terrifying nature of war. Those limericks are as creepy as they are funny, if you ask me, and is there a more chilling concept than that of the rocket raised to the status of godhead? And because it's very emotionally powerful. I think this is really what gets lost in the argument. Is not the very long episode recounting Franz Pokler's involvement with the rocket program, and his futile desire to regain his lost daughter, utterly heartbreaking? Is not the book's penultimate--very short (as spare and economical as a great haiku)--episode, reuniting Geli and Tchitcherine and featuring a quasi-reconciliation, of sorts (nothing's ever straightforward with Pynchon, after all), between the latter and Enzian, quite moving? Pynchon might still be a genius, but if not for this strong human element, he would not be a great writer of fiction, and this would not be a great novel. Nobody's *making* you read this novel, and it is without a hint of elitism (well, intentional elitism at any rate) that I say that Pynchon's madness is probably not for everybody. If you're adventurous, open-minded, and up for a challenge, however, I do not think you could do any better than Gravity's Rainbow.
Rating:
Summary: The American "Ulysses"
Review: This novel is the great watershed in the career of Pynchon. Everything that came before was deeply flawed -- V. and THE CRYING OF LOT 49 are inventive, yet immature and show-offy works, filled with an unbelievable number of longueurs -- while everything that came after is, in my opinion, unreadable. But in this one novel, and this one only, Pynchon did everything right. There's hardly a dull moment here, and practically every line is a delight. Like Mahler's conception of the symphony, Pynchon gives you a little bit of everything, from high culture to low, comedy to tragedy, deliberate banality to sublime invention, science to jazz, and oh so much more. The rest of Pynchon's oeuvre you can have; but his future reputation, in my opinion, stands or falls on this one alone. It is a feast of words, images and ideas. In my opinion, it should be regarded as the "American Ulysses."
|
