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A review by mcormier
Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon
5.0
It took me 22 months to read although I put it down for months at a time and tackled other books. Mason & Dixon is divided into chapters of 10-20 pages in length which makes it easy to read a chapter a day if you want to read at that pace. Pace is important in a novel like this. You need to balance looking up obscure words and references with actually reading the novel, and it does take time to get used to the fact that the book is written in 18th century English with:
- Capitalization of important nouns
- Apostraphation of certain words (rendered = render'd)
- The addition of the letter k to certain words (philosphick, topick)
There are many odd side plots in the book, werebeavers and the hollow earth adventure really stood out for me.
Besides his short story collection I've now read all of Pynchon's novels. I'd say my top 3 list of Pynchon novels is:
1. Against the Day
2. Mason & Dixon
3. Gravity's Rainbow
But if you've never read Pynchon before you should always start with V. or The Crying of Lot 49. Otherwise it will feel like being hit by a freight train.
- Capitalization of important nouns
- Apostraphation of certain words (rendered = render'd)
- The addition of the letter k to certain words (philosphick, topick)
There are many odd side plots in the book, werebeavers and the hollow earth adventure really stood out for me.
Besides his short story collection I've now read all of Pynchon's novels. I'd say my top 3 list of Pynchon novels is:
1. Against the Day
2. Mason & Dixon
3. Gravity's Rainbow
But if you've never read Pynchon before you should always start with V. or The Crying of Lot 49. Otherwise it will feel like being hit by a freight train.