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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this better than Gravity's Rainbow, but... I'm not sure what my Problem with Pynchon's Prose is (to coin an alliterative borrowing of this book's style). Sometimes I found it magnificent; other times I couldn't make sense of it. I'd be humming along, just fine, thank you very much, when all of a sudden, in the middle of an interesting story, a new character or plotline would appear. Or an old character whom I'd forgotten about and couldn't remember to save my life. Or the timeline would change from past to present with no indication or warning. I don't generally need an overabundance of linearity in a story, but my poor brain felt jerked about to and fro, until I gave up trying to follow any semblance of plot. My summary of this book is: Mason and Dixon went about their separate lives; they met up periodically and their story merged into a sort of metalife, then they separated again, then reconnected, &c, &c, &c. The end.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It may be the most beautiful and complex book that I’ve ever read.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s Pynchon! I still haven’t read enough challenging material to comprehend everything he writes, but he’s one of my favorite writers. I love his surreal style, his use of words, and the amount of care put in. He’s just amazing.
One of the best novels I have read. It is quite a monument of literature, and I think we will realize it when Pynchon dies. Its description quality is fascinating; it details the places and characters so well that one would think of oneself equipped with a camera (somewhat anachronistic) with the honor of being allowed to witness the story as a privileged spectator.
The vibrant and sharp language is sometimes necessary to call upon the dictionary, and one will not complain about it. But, unfortunately, so many books lower our vocabulary level; for once, I come across one that brings me considerable wealth.
They organize dialogues; they are funny and bring a rhythm, an unusual cadence, and poetic and theatrical. And what humor is ironic and subtle when it is not absurd? It is a lovely novel that knows how to combine these two forms of fun; they are so rare.
And what a story, it's a fantastic odyssey, an adventure where many literary genres mix. The book is long, not enough for my taste, too much for many, but I never wanted it to end. I love and hate this feeling; moreover, when I have the impression that I feel like an orphan at the end of the book, I enjoy reading. There it was. I loved it!!!
The vibrant and sharp language is sometimes necessary to call upon the dictionary, and one will not complain about it. But, unfortunately, so many books lower our vocabulary level; for once, I come across one that brings me considerable wealth.
They organize dialogues; they are funny and bring a rhythm, an unusual cadence, and poetic and theatrical. And what humor is ironic and subtle when it is not absurd? It is a lovely novel that knows how to combine these two forms of fun; they are so rare.
And what a story, it's a fantastic odyssey, an adventure where many literary genres mix. The book is long, not enough for my taste, too much for many, but I never wanted it to end. I love and hate this feeling; moreover, when I have the impression that I feel like an orphan at the end of the book, I enjoy reading. There it was. I loved it!!!
Where Gravity's Rainbow was more of a technical and complex masterpiece, Mason & Dixon beats it in sheer heart.
The cast of characters is huge, of course, but they are all so well-developed and written that it's not a challenge to keep track of them. The old-fashioned language is brilliantly twisted to resemble Pynchon's other books, and endless scenes of conversation are never a chore to read. The plot itself is so rife with hidden gems that I'm sure I missed many of them, but someday I'll come back and find even more. That's the beauty of Pynchon- his novels are landscapes that readers can explore endlessly and never get tired of, even when they get lost in them.
Don't read this book if you can't devote a lot of time and effort to it. Don't read it if you like things to be clear cut and straightforward. Definitely don't read it if you haven't read Pynchon before!! Read it if you want an adventure. Read it if you want to be swept away by the power of what words can transform into. Read it if you want to go camping with Mason and Dixon for a week or two.
The cast of characters is huge, of course, but they are all so well-developed and written that it's not a challenge to keep track of them. The old-fashioned language is brilliantly twisted to resemble Pynchon's other books, and endless scenes of conversation are never a chore to read. The plot itself is so rife with hidden gems that I'm sure I missed many of them, but someday I'll come back and find even more. That's the beauty of Pynchon- his novels are landscapes that readers can explore endlessly and never get tired of, even when they get lost in them.
Don't read this book if you can't devote a lot of time and effort to it. Don't read it if you like things to be clear cut and straightforward. Definitely don't read it if you haven't read Pynchon before!! Read it if you want an adventure. Read it if you want to be swept away by the power of what words can transform into. Read it if you want to go camping with Mason and Dixon for a week or two.