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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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The literary equivalent of being the monkey in the middle of a game of keep-away. Pynchon is smarter than you and he knows it; at this point in his career, he has absolutely no reason to make things reasonably comprehensible to the average reader. Pynchon has always been convoluted and esoteric, but, like, cmon… how am I supposed to factor quaternions and Pythagorean teachings into my understanding of the plot? And, then, almost like a grand joke, we delve into Balkan politics…
Maybe a 3 for Pynchon, less driven and transformative than GR, less charming than CoL49, less entrancing than M&D. However, maybe one of his more heartful works, there is some real characterization in this book that the others lack. Cyprian, Kit, Lew Basnight.. especially Cyprian! The cast of AtD feels quite alive. Also some of my favorite passages in any Pynchon I’ve read are in this book.
There is a basic, easy-to-follow plot and a complementary abstract one, there are real characters and imaginary ones, it’s easy to get lost in this book and caught on all the information Pynchon unloads page after page. Which leaves a lot to think about, but it makes the going slow. At 1085 pages, this book is an absolute slog, characters disappear and reappear hundreds of pages later, often long periods of time passes without much mention, it takes a pretty sizable amount of dedication to make it through Against the Day. Again, not Pynchon’s best, but still a remarkable book.
Maybe a 3 for Pynchon, less driven and transformative than GR, less charming than CoL49, less entrancing than M&D. However, maybe one of his more heartful works, there is some real characterization in this book that the others lack. Cyprian, Kit, Lew Basnight.. especially Cyprian! The cast of AtD feels quite alive. Also some of my favorite passages in any Pynchon I’ve read are in this book.
There is a basic, easy-to-follow plot and a complementary abstract one, there are real characters and imaginary ones, it’s easy to get lost in this book and caught on all the information Pynchon unloads page after page. Which leaves a lot to think about, but it makes the going slow. At 1085 pages, this book is an absolute slog, characters disappear and reappear hundreds of pages later, often long periods of time passes without much mention, it takes a pretty sizable amount of dedication to make it through Against the Day. Again, not Pynchon’s best, but still a remarkable book.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
I wish this was better. I love pynchon, i loved parts of this book, but 'encyclopedic' isn't a good thing here. The light motif usually bored me or the characters weren't funny like in GR or lovable like in M&D. Luckily, you could read inherent vice (which was awesome and funny), and the upcoming book, which will be topical and awe- inspiring and beautiful.
the way I sighed in relief when I finished this and also wish it could have lasted another 1000 pages. I loved it, yet tbh I'm not sure I could tell someone what it was about, other than capitalist oppression and self-determinism
Recommended by editors Ann & Jeff Vandermeer in the preface to their Steampunk anthology.