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le_lobey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was more receptive to the feverish weirdness of this on my second read. I appreciated how well Pynchon wrote Oedipa as a woman navigating a world that seems intent on convincing her of her own insanity. Despite being a sealed labyrinth of historical and interpretive puzzles, I was moved by the characters' need for connection and desperate struggles against feeling and being isolated. The images of Oedipa crying at the Remedios Varo painting, and of imagining an old man's dirty mattress going up in flames like a "memory bank to a computer of the lost" will stick with me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Pedophilia
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