any pynchon fans out there?

**wally wonder** · September 7th, 2009

curious. finally had a vacation. sold this house. had some $. (finally got paid after two years...did you hear that the vegas economy rebounded recently?

). two outlet malls. fossil and coach purses, yay! anyway, no bookstores until i get to the airport, see this hc by tom pynchon, inherent vice.

turns out the guy wrote another after mason and dixon, against the day, and was curious if there are any pynchon fans on board. read this blurb on the jacket of inherent vice, something about pynchon trying "a different genre" wtf that means haven't got a clue. the story kinda reminds me of vineland, or the crying of lot 49.

anyway, bought it, read a bit on the plane. will have to go back and start it again. all those bumps and shakes by the female pilot, yay!, didn't help my concentration. male flight attendants, yay! no kidding, both flights had female pilots, delta and north western, neat-o, hey? none of that langolier schietz on these flights. looked..."unaccustomed genre"...still clueless what that's supposed to mean.

anyway, pynchon has a nice way w/words, at times. i guess if you're a stranger to moral ambiguity you might not get off on it, but the way he combines words you wouldn't normally see together is neat-o. wish i could recall a specific instance of that...maybe i'll come back w/one. some of his characters have kooky names, like mike fallopian. this story i picked up at the airport, for instance, has something called the golden fang, which may be only a tax dodge set up by some dentists. gravity's rainbow is a real hoot, as well.

**wally wonder** · October 21st, 2009

hi blue. yeah, big fan. got against the day in the mail a day or two ago, along w/the interrogative mood (big fan, too) and cabinet of curiosities (new fan). the former roofer looks old. pynchon's book has this on the back..."these folks are mostly just trying to pursue their lives." splayed-footed toward purpose no doubt. and when that doesn't work you wake up sober propped up in a snowbank w/a mop for a wig, a car door opens, and your significant other says come on bluey, time to go home.

**wally wonder** · November 2nd, 2009

yeah, so reading against the day, and come across the name flagg, single name, nothing more, nothing less, unlike so many of pynchon's other characters, fleetwood vibe, miles blundell, clovis yutts, yashmeen halfcourt, etc. the flagg here is the governor's "clemency secretary" and flagg is described as "a cringing weasel...whose job was to review each day's population of malefactors and pint with his groomed little head at those to be summarily put to death..."

four pages later, the name "joe hill" is thrown out there, someone that organizes. pynchon novels are populated. this 1087 pager no different, and at times not an easy read, 'bout like gravity's rainbow. don't wanna forget anyone cause they show up pages later.

'nother scene, this in golden, colorado, i believe, and two characers talk about going up to castle rock, something about an amusement park there...which seems like a good way to describe the board, the castle rock amusement park...whoops, will that one get by ms. mod? pynchon is great for all those...acronyms? think that's the name for them. why, who's that tap tap tapping on my bridge? just li'l ole me is all.

on tother thing is something about the antlers hotel in colorado springs. wanted to google the place, see if it exists, ringing dinging bells, and all, you know, in sk's stuff. 'tis the season....anyway, all the above take place within 20 pages in against the day.

and to borrow a pleasantry from veikko, another character therein:

aitisi nai poroja!

**randallFlaggfan1** · March 1st, 2010

Hello, Bluey. I read Pynchon's Vineland. It started out well, but eventually dwindled. Too much backstory, IMO.

**heyguy** · April 18th, 2010

I'm a big Pynchon fan. One of the greatest living writers imo. Gravity's Rainbow, Mason & Dixon, The Crying of Lot 49--all amazing. I still need to get around to V. and Against the Day...

**omm poppa mow mow** · August 21st, 2011

what say, wally wonder?
there's a new photo of Thomas Pynchon out there...I saw it recently, like today, on Goodreads. Must be somewhat current, a--what looks like gray hair--in a black and white photo. Older man...whereas prior, there was that pic from his sailor days. No idea why this photo is/has been made available, as private as Pynchon has been.

Good, bad, otherwise? News. fwiw.

**omm poppa mow mow** · October 2nd, 2011

no clue who that was...that pic of...a man. it disappeared after i posted here...so maybe pynchon's privacy is intact. for those who get bent out-of-shape because stephen king won't be appearing in a mall near them....check out the life of thomas pynchon. i wonder what that was...that pic i saw at goodreads...a flook?

word of the day

flook

ummm