Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

Enigmatic American author Thomas Pynchon's classic novel, Gravity's Rainbow. Set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II, the novel centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by the German military. In particular, it features the quest undertaken by several characters to uncover the secret of a mysterious device, the Schwarzgerät ("black device"), which is slated to be installed in a rocket with the serial number "00000".

Traversing a wide range of knowledge, Gravity's Rainbow crosses boundaries between high and low culture, between literary propriety and profanity, and between science and speculative metaphysics.

Took me 6 months to finish this.

I thought a lot about Katje, Roger, Jessica. The episode with Tyrone wearing the pig costume for the feast day was interesting. I liked their vignettes. I don't really care for/get postmodern writing, so as the book had less and less narrative structure I enjoyed it less and less. I can only take so many interludes where Thomas Pynchon compares absolutely everything to an erection.

At the end of the day, I don't really owe anything to a book. So I debated putting this down but I knew I would absolutely never revisit it if I did so I just powered through.

i think the crux of this (and maybe pynchon's work in general) is the dichotomy between chaos and control in the order of the world, and i think that's especially fitting considering the novel's famously regarded style. pynchon's prose is some of the best i've read, rendering many scenes baffling or vulgar yet imbuing others with a sense of oddly ethereal beauty.

perhaps a more critical look at the novel is futile considering how much of the plot i was unable to grasp, but nonetheless, i don't think this is perfect. imo pynchon abuses racial slurs a bit gratuitously despite the anti-racist sentiment, and i just find some digressions to just be unnecessary in the wider scope of things. though the wide base of knowledge, the countless facts and intellectual digressions weaved through the story matter is undoubtedly part of the appeal. the amalgam of ideas here is intriguing, and the wider story of a world torn by war is endlessly fascinating. pynchon encompasses so many topics into ~700 pages and still makes the transitions between them feel generally intuitive and natural. absolute madlad.

can't really explain it, but this is one of the best things i've read. solid five stars.