The Crying of Lot 49
Oedipa Maas, executor of the will of Pierce Inverarity, journeys through a bizarre underground of secret societies, jazz clubs, beatniks, and her own psyche. Readers accustomed to postmodern literature will revel in Pynchon's second novel.
Stats for nerds
34recommend
73mentions
57people
2010–2026years
58% recommend40% neutral3% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Great article. I recently went through Crying of Lot 49 by Pynchon; the sequence of eccentric personalities in this article reminded me of a similar section that Pynchon has in the bay area. Unfortunately the personages interviewed here are not only real but climb beyond any fictional parody.
- I was unable to get very far into Gravity's Rainbow, although I wanted to. I was younger then and less patient—perhaps I should pick it up again.
For anyone wondering about Pynchon, I can say that The Crying of Lot 49 I did find approachable and it has made quite a lasting impression. It's not too long or too dense. And you may find a reference or two that have been subsumed by our greater culture. (As an example, I understood the reference when I saw Radiohead's fan club was called W.A.S.T.E..)
- With Gravity's Rainbow you can either read it and make peace with the fact that every acronym, reference, character, plot point etc. won't be fully understood or remembered (that's kind of the point with this type of writing style, imo), or you can read it with a companion guide kinda like how some people play video games.
I also liked Crying of Lot 49. Inherent Vice is also a bit of an easier time.
- There are basically two sorts of Pynchon novels[1]:
Gravity’s Rainbow, V and Against the Day are these monumental books which are sometimes really harrowing and hard to read (amazing in my opinion, but tough to read none the less).
Lot 49, Inherent Vice, Vineland and the new one are kind of “weird noir” gumshoe novels - funny and full of whacky conspiracies etc.
Bleeding edge is more like the second lot. I would definitely recommend people to read The Crying of Lot 49 and/or Inherent Vice to make up their minds whether they like Pynchon. Then you’ll know whether you want to invest in reading V or Gravity’s Rainbow etc.
[1] I’m gonna leave Mason & Dixon to one side because it’s sort of its own thing.
- Inherent Vice was great too. Gravity's Rainbow took me a few times to get into but it was a wild ride.
His early book "The Crying of Lot 49" was also really good.
- Pynchon's "California" novels (crying of lot 49, vineland, inherent vice) are much more readable, and arguably enjoyable. I found Gravity's Rainbow pretty inscrutable.
