THE CRYING OF LOT 49 by Thomas Pynchon

G. S. Carnivals

G. S. Carnivals

Our Temporary Supervisor
Thomas Pynchon's 1966 novel The Crying of Lot 49 and Thomas Ligotti's story "Teatro Grottesco," I think, share some common ground. Both pieces have protagonists who become aware of sinister organizations whose roots reach back through the centuries. In either case, true knowledge of the organization (whether the Tristero System or the Teatro Grottesco) is sketchy at best. Oedipa Maas and " a writer of nihilistic prose works" ultimately face the respective fates dished up by their adversary/partner.

I generally recommend Thomas Pynchon's work. It's not easy reading, but it is rewarding reading. Mr. Pynchon is very intelligent, and tosses (?) the strangest facts and arcana into his works. I've maintained for over 25 years that Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow is my favorite novel. I'm not budging at this late date....
 
Hmm...I'll have to check out The Crying of Lot 49. Is it really long? I have this unfortunate problem of having a hard time actually finishing anything longer than 200 pages (because I have too much going on in my life to keep up with it as I tend to forget what's happening when I have to put the book down for several weeks at a time). My girlfriend has been reading Gravity's Rainbow for what seems like months now, and although it sounds very interesting, I suspect I would have no hope of actually finishing something like that.
 
I haven't read it, but no, it's not very long. In fact, I've long been tempted to pick up a copy, so I can say I've read Pynchon! (Well, not just that, of course.)

While I do read big novels every once in a while, I prefer slimmer volumes myself for the same reasons that you cite. I have trouble concentrating, and have developed a rather embarrassing habit of making notes on character names and descriptions with some books I've read.
 
Hello G.S.

Thomas Pynchon seems to be a private person. I like that. He's the type I'd like to write a letter to, but I have absolutely nowhere to direct the envelope. Any suggestions?

Rightfully or wrongfully, Pynchon has been compared to J.D. Salinger in wanting his reclusiveness.

Pynchon, the man, is a wonder to read about on the internet.
 
I had never made any connection between these two very different authors...but I urge you all to read "The Crying of Lot 49" at least twice...Like most TL´s stories, It gets even better with re reading.I also like Pynchon´s skill to create those strange names...Oedipa Mass, Mucho Mass, Piggy Bodine and so on.
The crying of lot 49 was one of the few novels that gave me goosebumps after reading it.I rate the works I read by the level of goosebumps i get right after finishing the book or short story.Oedipa Maas´ paranoia about the Tristero really seethes into the reader...

Many Ligotti´s stories had this effect on me, as "Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech", "In the shadow of another word" and "Dr.Locrian´s Asylum", for instance.
G. S. I tried to read Gravity´s Rainbow twice since april last year... but the 1st 100 pages or so are very nonsensical and kind of silly... Nonetheless, I haven´t given it up.

Adam, the crying is a short book,only some pages longer than "My work is not yet done".

W.A.S.T.E.
 
I have to admit to being a member of the short attention span club as well. That's one of the reasons I enjoy writers like Ligotti and Borges so much - they pack as lot of punch into a brief amount of text. I write for a living, so I have a deep respect for those who can communicate a lot of ideas with a concise amount of text.

I was never able to finish Gravity's Rainbow because of it's length, but I'll to give The Crying of Lot 49 a try!
 
I'm more a "drifter" than a "low attention span" person: Instead of losing interest entirely, I drift to something else, then drift back, but usually have to re-start to refresh my memory.
Sounds good. Have motive; Will read.
 
barrywood";p="3148 said:
Thomas Pynchon seems to be a private person. I like that. He's the type I'd like to write a letter to, but I have absolutely nowhere to direct the envelope. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Barry, write and address your missive, and just toss it into any old receptacle labelled W.A.S.T.E. Be certain that the periods are there. You don't want to throw your letter into a dumpster by mistake. Trust the mail system. Mr. Pynchon will receive it. 😉


As for Gravity's Rainbow, folks, plug along... This one requires extra effort. One who finishes this novel is a literary triathlon winner of sorts! Tyrone Slothrop's tale is that of the Fool, one foot ever-poised over the precipice...
 
I've not read any Pynchon, either. Perhaps I'll burn for intellectual heresy, but I simply don't like reading novels that are too long, convoluted, "postmodern" (to quote Moe the Bartender, "Weird for the sake of bein' weird") or what have you. Had I but world enough, and time, then I might learn to savor the more formidable tomes out there. As it is, life too often gets in the way, as others have noted. And so I enjoy short stories, three-minute pop songs, illegal drugs, and other things that can more easily entertain the synaptically challenged.

That said, if Lot 49 is reasonably brief, then I might have to add it to the List anyway. I can do a sprint, just don't ask me to do a marathon. 😉
 
The Crying of Lot 49 is brief, but I think Vineland is more accessible. He also has a collection of short stories called Slow Learner. I made it through Gravity's Rainbow by sheer force of will. I'll have to reread it at some point in the far future.
 
This thread, inadvertently, has revealed the reading habits of various members. I'm a drifter like The Silent One. I can easily drift to another book or completely different medium without even thinking. Undiagnosed OCD may account for this. Maybe not.

Avoiding Psychiatry,
Phil
 
Speaking of which:

When I was younger, the school system kept trying to say I was mentally ill. The school shrink (the terror of the normally likeable, intelligent female sex) claimed I had Aspberger's (mild autism)! So I ended up going to the Children's Hospital of Philidelphia's top psychologist/psychiatrist. Guess what? He said to my parents, basically, that my only problem was that I was (am) a bonafide genius :). To satisfy the bureaucrats, he marked the lightest possible diagnosis of ADHD. An advantage, because now that I'm marked down as off-kilter (only a touch), I get funding. Hence, I get many lesser scholastic luxuries.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top