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174 reviews for:
Thomas pynchon's Against the day: A Deleuzian reading of pynchon's language.
Thomas Pynchon
4.19 AVERAGE
174 reviews for:
Thomas pynchon's Against the day: A Deleuzian reading of pynchon's language.
Thomas Pynchon
4.19 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did it, I finished Pynchon’s longest novel to date, a narcissistic unhinged bloated behemoth over 1200 pages of vast utter brilliance, an ultimate tour de force of ideas. Against the Day quite simply is one of those novels that refuses to be summarized, or at least in doing so, would be an injustice to the novel itself. Yet here I am doing it, knowing that this review, if you want to call it that, is doomed to pale in comparison to the novel lmao.
I’m going to start this clinically, Against the Day is one of historiographic metafiction, that is, it blends seamlessly fictions, history, and theory. Set in the turn-of-century world (literally, the novel takes you all over the world). To quote Pynchon himself, “The narrative takes place between the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the time immediately following World War I and features more than a hundred characters spread across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Central Asia, Africa and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all.”
It has hundreds of characters and takes you throughout themes you would’ve never thought about, i.e., the time-appropriate turn-of-the-century spirit of innovation during the American frontier, labor struggles, American exceptionalism, European social model, colonialism, the nascent of scientific temper/attitude, capitalism, anarchism, theoretical physics, mathematics, class warfare, religiosity, mysticism, sexuality (and tangentially, some of its perverse depravity), indigenous folklores, the fringes of society, and so many others. I’m not kidding, the novel is crammed with ideas.
That said, I want to delve deeper into a couple of them, namely Industrialization in the early 20th century and mysticism/indigenous folklore. On the industrialization, the novel did it so well, you could really feel the spirit of change, way back when people were excited of the new strange inventions and scientific theories that were popping up all over the place, invading the common sense of the masses. When inventors were treated as celebrities, when it was still a profession. I mean, you couldn’t get away with saying, “Oh I’m an inventor” nowadays. On mysticism and indigenous folklore, it’s very fascinating to read a novel that embrace the weirder side of human culture. That is to say, the novel’s receptive attitude to the legends that have accompanied us throughout the entirety of humanity is refreshing.
Ending the tangent, the novel did exploration of these concepts through its characters of course, but more on that, the characters are “merely” the vessel through which Pynchon give you his take on these topics. Consequently, it’s not a novel of a singular plot thread. In other words, it’s a journey on macro level, of big ideas, through the lens of each “inconsequential” characters, by way of the dilemmas they faced, and the cards they’re dealt with. Simply put, it’s a tome of exploration of all things worldly (and unworldly). Don’t go in expecting a conventionally-structured and narrative-and-character-driven novel. Albeit in my opinion, the characters and the narrative of this novel is just as captivating. The characters aren’t the main point, is all I’m saying.
Now moving on to the writings or prose. The novel presents its own challenges. It’s as dense as they come, built of layers upon layers. After a while though, you’ll find yourself enjoying the Pynchonian rhythm of the writings. Which, in and of itself is very exciting. Were I to use an analogy, it’s like barrages of mortars. It feels ambitious, explosive, hounding, relentless, almost an assault even. I’m not going to say it’s complex despite many people saying so, because I don’t feel like it is. Yes, it plunges deeply in its depth, but it’s not absolutely insurmountable. The more you read, the more you look things up, the more you get out of it. One can understand it just fine, provided one puts in the effort. Admittedly, there are parts that went over my head, despite my effort in acquainting myself with them, the physics I can still understand somewhat, at least the gist of it, but the mathematics side of the book, phew. But I imagine they’re as enjoyable as the other parts to those who understand them. I think part of being able to enjoy the book as a whole. is to accept that you simply won’t understand all of it in your first reading.
All said (more like read, am I right? lmao) and done, having finished this, I’m left equally awed and perplexed, but enjoyed it all the same nonetheless. Ultimately, my conscience won’t allow me to recommend this to just anyone, if only because of its sheer length and denseness. But, if you’re the sort of person who enjoy this type of grandeur door-stopper novel, well you should try Against the Day.
I’m going to start this clinically, Against the Day is one of historiographic metafiction, that is, it blends seamlessly fictions, history, and theory. Set in the turn-of-century world (literally, the novel takes you all over the world). To quote Pynchon himself, “The narrative takes place between the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the time immediately following World War I and features more than a hundred characters spread across the United States, Europe, Mexico, Central Asia, Africa and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all.”
It has hundreds of characters and takes you throughout themes you would’ve never thought about, i.e., the time-appropriate turn-of-the-century spirit of innovation during the American frontier, labor struggles, American exceptionalism, European social model, colonialism, the nascent of scientific temper/attitude, capitalism, anarchism, theoretical physics, mathematics, class warfare, religiosity, mysticism, sexuality (and tangentially, some of its perverse depravity), indigenous folklores, the fringes of society, and so many others. I’m not kidding, the novel is crammed with ideas.
That said, I want to delve deeper into a couple of them, namely Industrialization in the early 20th century and mysticism/indigenous folklore. On the industrialization, the novel did it so well, you could really feel the spirit of change, way back when people were excited of the new strange inventions and scientific theories that were popping up all over the place, invading the common sense of the masses. When inventors were treated as celebrities, when it was still a profession. I mean, you couldn’t get away with saying, “Oh I’m an inventor” nowadays. On mysticism and indigenous folklore, it’s very fascinating to read a novel that embrace the weirder side of human culture. That is to say, the novel’s receptive attitude to the legends that have accompanied us throughout the entirety of humanity is refreshing.
Ending the tangent, the novel did exploration of these concepts through its characters of course, but more on that, the characters are “merely” the vessel through which Pynchon give you his take on these topics. Consequently, it’s not a novel of a singular plot thread. In other words, it’s a journey on macro level, of big ideas, through the lens of each “inconsequential” characters, by way of the dilemmas they faced, and the cards they’re dealt with. Simply put, it’s a tome of exploration of all things worldly (and unworldly). Don’t go in expecting a conventionally-structured and narrative-and-character-driven novel. Albeit in my opinion, the characters and the narrative of this novel is just as captivating. The characters aren’t the main point, is all I’m saying.
Now moving on to the writings or prose. The novel presents its own challenges. It’s as dense as they come, built of layers upon layers. After a while though, you’ll find yourself enjoying the Pynchonian rhythm of the writings. Which, in and of itself is very exciting. Were I to use an analogy, it’s like barrages of mortars. It feels ambitious, explosive, hounding, relentless, almost an assault even. I’m not going to say it’s complex despite many people saying so, because I don’t feel like it is. Yes, it plunges deeply in its depth, but it’s not absolutely insurmountable. The more you read, the more you look things up, the more you get out of it. One can understand it just fine, provided one puts in the effort. Admittedly, there are parts that went over my head, despite my effort in acquainting myself with them, the physics I can still understand somewhat, at least the gist of it, but the mathematics side of the book, phew. But I imagine they’re as enjoyable as the other parts to those who understand them. I think part of being able to enjoy the book as a whole. is to accept that you simply won’t understand all of it in your first reading.
All said (more like read, am I right? lmao) and done, having finished this, I’m left equally awed and perplexed, but enjoyed it all the same nonetheless. Ultimately, my conscience won’t allow me to recommend this to just anyone, if only because of its sheer length and denseness. But, if you’re the sort of person who enjoy this type of grandeur door-stopper novel, well you should try Against the Day.
I've done it. I've officially read all of Thomas Pynchon's books. Most people don't even make it through Gravity's Rainbow, so I'm pretty proud of myself.
Against the Day is Pynchon's longest book, at a staggering 1085 pages of what can only be described as maximalism. It's one of the author's three "unreadable" books (the other two being Gravity's Rainbow and Mason & Dixon), but of those three, it's easily the most accessible. The cast of characters is huge, sure, but the plots themselves are pretty straightforward. However, I won't even begin to try to describe them, because after finishing this thing, I'm exhausted. There are the equivalent of at least three books in here, each telling their own story in great detail, and only someone as crazy as Pynchon would decide to write them all into one monumental smorgasboard of literary gluttony. My God, this book is intimidating just to ,i>look at.
As usual, Pynchon writes the most unique and likable characters imaginable. They are all so instantly Pynchonian and yet vastly different that, in a sea of names and places, it's hard to forget who's who. Some threads are more interesting to follow than others, but they're all extremely good in at least a few parts. The subject matter of this book features some of Pynchon's usual themes, but is notable in its Marxism and its attitude towards technological advancement. The bizarre fantastical elements are here too, and as always they fit in perfectly, in their odd special way.
So why 4 stars instead of 5? Because Pynchon's done better. My favorite of his books is Inherent Vice, but his masterpiece is absolutely Mason & Dixon, and the reason that this one doesn't quite hit those heights is because it lacks the pure fun of the former and the thematic focus of the latter. I wouldn't know where to begin trimming the fat of Against the Day, but I will say that it's excessive brilliance is its greatest flaw, as it is a bit overlong and towards page 750 I was eager to finish it.
That might be because I read it in under a month, though. This thing could reasonably take years to finish, and if you're ambitious, you might just want to give it a try.
Against the Day is Pynchon's longest book, at a staggering 1085 pages of what can only be described as maximalism. It's one of the author's three "unreadable" books (the other two being Gravity's Rainbow and Mason & Dixon), but of those three, it's easily the most accessible. The cast of characters is huge, sure, but the plots themselves are pretty straightforward. However, I won't even begin to try to describe them, because after finishing this thing, I'm exhausted. There are the equivalent of at least three books in here, each telling their own story in great detail, and only someone as crazy as Pynchon would decide to write them all into one monumental smorgasboard of literary gluttony. My God, this book is intimidating just to ,i>look at.
As usual, Pynchon writes the most unique and likable characters imaginable. They are all so instantly Pynchonian and yet vastly different that, in a sea of names and places, it's hard to forget who's who. Some threads are more interesting to follow than others, but they're all extremely good in at least a few parts. The subject matter of this book features some of Pynchon's usual themes, but is notable in its Marxism and its attitude towards technological advancement. The bizarre fantastical elements are here too, and as always they fit in perfectly, in their odd special way.
So why 4 stars instead of 5? Because Pynchon's done better. My favorite of his books is Inherent Vice, but his masterpiece is absolutely Mason & Dixon, and the reason that this one doesn't quite hit those heights is because it lacks the pure fun of the former and the thematic focus of the latter. I wouldn't know where to begin trimming the fat of Against the Day, but I will say that it's excessive brilliance is its greatest flaw, as it is a bit overlong and towards page 750 I was eager to finish it.
That might be because I read it in under a month, though. This thing could reasonably take years to finish, and if you're ambitious, you might just want to give it a try.
‘It’s always night, or we wouldn’t need light’
This book blew me away, obviously. Like any novel of its size, it has ups and downs, many difficult sections (though none as difficult as anything in Gravity’s Rainbow), but as long as you ride the wave you’ll be fine.
Light- some things are lit and some remain in darkness, who decides what is illuminated?
Underground- alternative currents hide in the darkness underground (stranniki). The large question of against the day is whether a different world is possible, the anarchists imagine it is. The alternative is connected with scientific and occult advances which are also used by Them. It is clear that the alternative must be spiritually as well as politically and socially completely different from the world we now. The world we know is the world sketched in GR: alliances of Capital and States all over the globe, one big conglomerate of War and Death. Pynchon picks up threads from real history and finds roads not taken that might have made all the difference.
An incredibly complex web of Capital, politics, religion, betrayal, desire form the background for WW1, which is finally unleashed by the assassination of an idiot man-child.
The ending seems like one of Pynchon’s most hopeful endings: we must imagine the vector pointing towards a happy postwar love between Kit and Dally, the Chums fly towards grace. Their city-sized ship now seems to offer an alternative to doomed life on earth, grace in the third dimension, the æther. Still, we all know the 20th century horrors that await them, but the point is that we cannot be to sure in this knowledge because we cannot impose our understanding of time on this truly special work of art and its characters. For them, and maybe for us, a different world may be possible, a different world may be unfolding itself right under our noses without us noticing. I thought the book had lost me around p. 800 but the ending almost made me cry.
This book blew me away, obviously. Like any novel of its size, it has ups and downs, many difficult sections (though none as difficult as anything in Gravity’s Rainbow), but as long as you ride the wave you’ll be fine.
Light- some things are lit and some remain in darkness, who decides what is illuminated?
Underground- alternative currents hide in the darkness underground (stranniki). The large question of against the day is whether a different world is possible, the anarchists imagine it is. The alternative is connected with scientific and occult advances which are also used by Them. It is clear that the alternative must be spiritually as well as politically and socially completely different from the world we now. The world we know is the world sketched in GR: alliances of Capital and States all over the globe, one big conglomerate of War and Death. Pynchon picks up threads from real history and finds roads not taken that might have made all the difference.
An incredibly complex web of Capital, politics, religion, betrayal, desire form the background for WW1, which is finally unleashed by the assassination of an idiot man-child.
The ending seems like one of Pynchon’s most hopeful endings: we must imagine the vector pointing towards a happy postwar love between Kit and Dally, the Chums fly towards grace. Their city-sized ship now seems to offer an alternative to doomed life on earth, grace in the third dimension, the æther. Still, we all know the 20th century horrors that await them, but the point is that we cannot be to sure in this knowledge because we cannot impose our understanding of time on this truly special work of art and its characters. For them, and maybe for us, a different world may be possible, a different world may be unfolding itself right under our noses without us noticing. I thought the book had lost me around p. 800 but the ending almost made me cry.
Achievement unlocked: finished Against the Day.
A dizzyingly complex novel which makes the Mahabharata look like a Where's Waldo book in comparison, with hundreds of characters, dozens of locations, and zeroes of identifiable plots.
It is in some ways the most impressive book I've ever read, but not for any traditional good book reasons. Pynchon knows a lot of things, and clearly enjoys chopping and screwing that information then launching it at you. But the book is as much the anti novel as Antichthon is the Counter Earth (or whatever that whole passage was); it is 99.9% plot hole to .1% plot.
Should you read it? No probably not, unless you have a particular attachment to self harm or get off on tautologically-impossible lit. two for two on that count.
A dizzyingly complex novel which makes the Mahabharata look like a Where's Waldo book in comparison, with hundreds of characters, dozens of locations, and zeroes of identifiable plots.
It is in some ways the most impressive book I've ever read, but not for any traditional good book reasons. Pynchon knows a lot of things, and clearly enjoys chopping and screwing that information then launching it at you. But the book is as much the anti novel as Antichthon is the Counter Earth (or whatever that whole passage was); it is 99.9% plot hole to .1% plot.
Should you read it? No probably not, unless you have a particular attachment to self harm or get off on tautologically-impossible lit. two for two on that count.
Halfway through it now: I definitely don't it as one of Pynchon's most accessible works, as some reviews have claimed. There's a whole host of characters, as usual, but they seem to be inhabiting different books and literary genres, even when they combine, and none of them have so far been attractive enough for me to bother trying to remember them when the narrative moves away. By the time we return to them, I have to sometimes actually go back to refresh my memory, which bugs.
I'm reading it with my laptop handy so I can look up all the mathematics and physics terms. Not enough humanity in this book, I think.
I'm reading it with my laptop handy so I can look up all the mathematics and physics terms. Not enough humanity in this book, I think.
Against the Day is about a feeling. Feeling as if one is not in control of one's actions, as if one's life is constantly impaired by externalities. I think anyone who is even mildly paranoid will sometimes be under the impression that they are not truly in control of their actions.
"do what they tell you and take what they give you and don't go on strike or their soldiers will shoot you down."
We attempt to live meaningful lives, surrounded with the people who mean something to us, but there is always someone (or something) lurking around the corner, ready to fuck everything up.
That "something" might be the nation, The War, capitalism, or even human nature itself. Pynchon's views on corruption and domination are informed by his views on history. He doesn't view history, like most historians, as institutional, as a war between nations for resources, with human lives as currency. Instead, his history is one of "lives as they are lived, deaths as they are died, all that is made of flesh, blood, semen, bone, fire, pain, shit, madness ,intoxication, visions"--that is real history, says Pynchon.
As much as it is about corruption and evil perpetrated on the powerless individual, it is also about potential; The potential of the human spirit, in the face of suffering and malevolence. The potential of science, as a force of good. The potential of love and friendship, in the creation of paradise, absent from time and space entirely.
Against the day is a beautiful and heartbreaking rendition of individuals trapped by historical systems of labor, capital and warfare. Pynchon is a master of pastiche, of prose and ideas, weaving concepts together and breaking them apart like a magician. Pynchon might be intimidating and harsh at times, but fundamentally, his message is one of love, compassion and potential.
"do what they tell you and take what they give you and don't go on strike or their soldiers will shoot you down."
We attempt to live meaningful lives, surrounded with the people who mean something to us, but there is always someone (or something) lurking around the corner, ready to fuck everything up.
That "something" might be the nation, The War, capitalism, or even human nature itself. Pynchon's views on corruption and domination are informed by his views on history. He doesn't view history, like most historians, as institutional, as a war between nations for resources, with human lives as currency. Instead, his history is one of "lives as they are lived, deaths as they are died, all that is made of flesh, blood, semen, bone, fire, pain, shit, madness ,intoxication, visions"--that is real history, says Pynchon.
As much as it is about corruption and evil perpetrated on the powerless individual, it is also about potential; The potential of the human spirit, in the face of suffering and malevolence. The potential of science, as a force of good. The potential of love and friendship, in the creation of paradise, absent from time and space entirely.
Against the day is a beautiful and heartbreaking rendition of individuals trapped by historical systems of labor, capital and warfare. Pynchon is a master of pastiche, of prose and ideas, weaving concepts together and breaking them apart like a magician. Pynchon might be intimidating and harsh at times, but fundamentally, his message is one of love, compassion and potential.
I'm going to admit upfront that I didn't read this whole book. I got started on it, but I recognized that this was not the type of book that I generally find interesting--mainly because it's a book about ideas and not people--so I stopped reading and marked it as a reminder of myself to never go back. The characters were more caricatures than people, which Pynchon doesn't even pretend to be otherwise when he gives his characters the names he does, so that the book is about how epic and over-arching a story, at the expense of well-rounded characters. For some people the story can be priority, so many probably enjoyed this and hats off to them.
The first 30 pages or so made me feel as if they should have been read out by an old-timey news cast or by that guy in the modern movies about classic times who announces the baseball plays. It was very "Well, the fly boys heah are runnin round the bend and golly gee whiz what have they got in store for us?!" I did enough research to find out that Pynchon adopts several types of tones/styles in the book and perhaps at some point the tone shifted, but I wasn't going to take the chance that it shifted into some overly sappy romantic novel tone, Because I would go read a romantic novel if I wanted that.
The first 30 pages or so made me feel as if they should have been read out by an old-timey news cast or by that guy in the modern movies about classic times who announces the baseball plays. It was very "Well, the fly boys heah are runnin round the bend and golly gee whiz what have they got in store for us?!" I did enough research to find out that Pynchon adopts several types of tones/styles in the book and perhaps at some point the tone shifted, but I wasn't going to take the chance that it shifted into some overly sappy romantic novel tone, Because I would go read a romantic novel if I wanted that.