4 ms·
I've noticed that a lot of people expect books like this to be a puzzle, but they really aren't. When Pynchon writes about Slothrop naked in a barn getting att
by jrumbut 4y ago
I've noticed that a lot of people expect books like this to be a puzzle, but they really aren't.
When Pynchon writes about Slothrop naked in a barn getting attacked by a witch's owl you can just laugh at it, you can just be disgusted by Captain Blicero, etc. No mystery solving required.
- jandrese 4y agoIt is definitely a book I would dread having a test on after reading it. I think its status as "serious literature" does it a disservice in this regard. School teaches us that literature must be carefully scrutinized in order to not miss the obscured meaning packed into each and every passage. But treating Gravity's Rainbow with this level of scrutiny leads only to madness.
- jrumbut 4y agoYeah, the idea that great literature is great because it has a bunch of secret messages encoded in it is as crazy as Gravity's Rainbow and kills a lot of people's interest in literary fiction. Funny enough GR does have a bunch of secret messages (Tyrone Slothrop -> Sloth Or Entropy), but they aren't why the book is good (closer to why the book is bad) and aren't necessary to enjoy it.