Shadow Ticket drops tomorrow .. no thread?
>>24778899Pynchon deez nutz
What do you want, a pinned Shadow Ticket gamethread like /v/ does for Nintendo Directs? That's silly
>>24778927>sub-5000 concurrent readersShitted and flopped. Pynchoncels be seething over Kuangchads. Katabasis is taking BOTY btw.
you have to understand, no one on this board is actually able to read. it's genuinely astonishing that so many of us have figured out how to work the post button, let alone the SHIftk Ey
>>24778899Why would there be a thread for a book that comes out tomorrow? I think all threads should be banned about it for a month so people can read and digest it
>>24778899Apparently my copy just shipped, hopefully it arrives for the weekend.
I'll go to Barnes and Nobles tomorrow and buy it
Hoping that EPUB appears somewhere soon. I got a copy on the way but it looks like it's going to be late. I'm hearing there are people reading it on Kindle and listening to the audiobook now, so it's only a matter of someone ripping it. Stoked.
Already placed a hold at my local public library. I can't wait, fellas!
>>24778899>Orange Man le bad...disguised as a historical novel!
>>24778899>Sub-500 page Pinecone bookIt's going to be terrible
>nearly 30 years since his last good bookthis is like buying a new Rolling Stones album...
>>24779016Cry lmao
>>24779064Not even right-wing, but Pynchon is always at his worst when he uses his novels to do heavy-handed political polemics. It's a huge reason why Vineland and Inherent Vice are so bad - they're the ramblings of a disgruntled boomerlib covering as a novel.
>>24779083>reading pynchon for his politicslmao
>>24779093His prose style gets worse the more explicitly and heavy-handed the politics is, hence why M&D is his greatest stylistic work. It's the truth.
>>24779083??? Gravity's Rainbow is extremely political. And Mason & Dixon is a dismantling of America's founding mythology.
>>24779109Sounds like you're triggered a bit
>>24778899He's still writing?
>>24779064Don't have to when Kamala lost
>>24779186Yet here you are
any interest in a read along thread? or should I just marathon it and discuss with fellow neets here
>>24779210I will read it but if it comes out on audible contemporaneously I will listen to it since I hab free credit, otherwise I will try to get the epub. I am not going to pay money to a guy who is dead.A readalong would be nice.
Oh shid it's on apple books, I'm reading the free sample right fucking now
I actually went out and bought a copy. I couldn't wait for delivery.
>>24779317my mans pynchin tonight
>>24778967Mine did as well; tracker says it arrives tomorrow. Won't read it till the weekend, however
>>24778899is there only a hardback and comically large print paperbacks for sale? I don't really want to buy either, how long until it's up on anna's archive?
Does anybody have a link to a good review of it?
>>24779374Apparently Vollman wrote a good one.
We don't read here faggot
>>24778899>>24779383>>24779383>Apparently Vollman wrote a good one.https://web.archive.org/web/20251002114829/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/books/review/thomas-pynchon-shadow-ticket.html>Little in Pynchon’s oeuvre, however, prepares the reader for “Shadow Ticket,” his first novel in 12 years and possibly (he is 88) his last. Alongside Émile Zola’s “The Belly of Paris,” it is perhaps Western literature’s Great Cheese Novel. (Though Pynchon often spells it “cheez.”) It’s as if he’s out to make America grate again.>Whereas Zola sang of Brie “like melancholy extinct moons” and compared a round of Gruyere to “a wheel fallen from some barbarian chariot,” Pynchon finds in the industrial production of curds and whey enough paranoia, satirical and otherwise, to power a midsize city, perhaps one in Wisconsin.>“Shadow Ticket” is set in Milwaukee in the early 1930s, just before the repeal of Prohibition. In the almost pastoral calm before this novel’s storm, we learn of a “Dairy Metaphysics Symposium” in Sheboygan, and a character comments, “Spend your whole day around ice cream, you can begin to grow philosophical.” Another says (Pynchon rarely says “says” when he can say “sez” instead), “Wisconsin is possessed by some vast earth-scented spirit of Bovinity.”>The remainder of the plot reads like a series of 80-point tabloid headlines. Cheese fraud is rampant; “Bolshevik” farmers in collectives threaten to upset the big-money status quo; an incident known as the Cheese Corridor Incursion has made a lot of mafioso types nervous. The “Roquefort police” and “the Gorgonzola squadri” are on the move. The rind is peeled off many people’s nerves.>.... He had more to say about California in “Inherent Vice” and about New York City in “Bleeding Edge” (2013) than he does about Milwaukee here. This is not a novel that will convert the Pynchon-averse. It’s the least notable thing he’s written.Grim.
Going to avoid this thread to not get spoiled, but I just want to say: not only is this most likely going to be the last book by Pynchon, but this will be one of the final books by any of the major /lit/ canon authors. As someone who has been posting on /lit/ since like 2014, kind of feels like an end of an era.
>>24779411Yeah feels very weird cormac dying made me take a step back and realize that it's really just him left now
>>24779415I really hope there's a novel ready for posthumous publication, even if it's unfinished, like The Pale King.
Sick to death of hearing about this book that's probably going to suck ass anyway
it's out
>>24778899PLEASE someone link a .mobi file of it>>24779560links pls?
>>24779681lol, i can only find the audiobook, not a mobi file...
>>24779560Um, where?
>>24779394>Vollman wrote a good one>quotes a review by Dwigt Rortugal?????????
>>24779681>>24779690>>24779726https://files.catbox.moe/0cfcjh.epub
>>24779758to get the important stuff out of the way: the word "nigger" appears in the text exactly once
>>24779758damn, its legit. many thanks and blessings to you anon
>>24778967Mine should be here today, sadly wont be until after I leave for work. This is the most I've looked forward to a book in a while, probably the last thing he'll ever publish.
>>24779681Can't you just concert it using Calibre reader?
>>24779774now that i have the epub its all good, im pretty excited.
>>24779394NYT pseud filtered by cheese
>>24778899Oh yeah that’s the guy who thinks about how turds look like nigger dicks
>>24778899Why are the covers for his novels so fucking ugly?The original GR print and M&D are the only decent ones.
>>24779758appreciated
>>24779016A reviewer wrote an article about how he was disappointed Pynch DIDN'T write an orange man bad book.
>>24779904link?
>>24779058Inherent vice came out in 2009 anon. Thats only 16 years.
>>24779857I like the italian ones
>>24779758Unfathomably based. That being said Im going to B&N soon.
>>24779954it was the New Yorker LMAO
>>24780022>https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/09/29/shadow-ticket-thomas-pynchon-book-review>Literature has no obligation to be responsive to the times; indeed, at its best it often isn’t, which is why “timeless” is such lofty, if hackneyed, praise. But it does raise a question. If our reigning artist of paranoid convictions, of high crimes and deep states, of the peculiar combination of depravity and absurdity found in those who lust for power—if that guy hasn’t made use of the present political moment to craft a satire or a survival manual or a swan song or even an “I told you so,” then what has he come here, after a long silence and in all likelihood for the last time, to tell us?loool
>>24779131>dismantlingThat's not really the case; in a way, it kind of clarifies it, points the way to the Loony Tunes future of crass absurdity and cartoon violence, all within the sweet context of a nostalgia for friends made and lost in what is the inevitable passage of time. Pynchon may be paranoid and politically whacked (but who isn't these days?) but he clearly loves this place with a rare liveliness, and I love him for it. I really do
>>24780036So a jew woman writing in the New Yorker has a more coherent and insightful take on the book than anyone on /lit/ so far? Tough
>>24780051Kek. It's just out today, numbskull
>>24780057That's more than enough time for any of you to say something intelligent
why has pynchon's stock has fallen so much in academia recently?
>>24780068Because you touch yourself at night
One page in and this absolutely wrecks Cormac’s last works haha
>>24780068Postmodernism fell out of flavor. Auto-fiction became the big thing for awhile, and then that overlapped for a time with a greater awareness of underrepresented voices in publishing so stuff that reads like a saturday morning cartoon from a boomer white guy just comes across as juvenile.
>>24779857Original V. is based.
>>24780036>This will disappoint any fans who were hoping for a rousing Pynchon riposte to our depressingly Pynchonesque era, but it’s hardly a problem.Why did you clip out the first sentence?
>>24780091What even is postmodernism in literature.?
>>24780091>Auto-fiction became the big thing for awhileLike Mason & Dixon?>a greater awareness of underrepresented voices in publishingLike the voice of an anarchist?
Is this the readalong threada?
>>24779761Thank you for your service. Anyway, gonna buy a copy but I gotta finish Suttree first.
>>24780095>but it’s hardly a problemYes, she says this. But she dedicates so much space to lamenting the fact that Shadow Ticket isn't an "orange man bad" book that it's hard to believe that this is a sincere admission.
>>24780106Lmao no. Triggered little trump babby
>>24779394>It’s as if he’s out to make America grate again.Goddammit
>>24780102>Like the voice of an anarchist?No, unless said anarchist is a woman, black, asian, or lgbt who have been repressed for all of history.Are you a cis-white male by any chance?
>Matrimonials ain't my thingSounds familiar but I don't mind
[Spoiler] I am testing my spoiler tag skill which usually a I fuck up [/spoiler]
>>24780172Keeping the streak alive!
>>24780172no caps bro
>>24780179 I am on page 5
>>24780100A rejection of adherence to any one form, a reaction to modernism.
I'm happy for Tommy P. I truly am, getting to write what he wants in his dotage rather than chasing trends and trying eke out a living with movie scripts like Corncob did
>>24780064e=mc^2
>>24780137From the very first couple pages... if you liked Inherent Vice... but even from the synopsis you'd get the warning. I'm actually glad I knew this beforehand, otherwise I might be annoyed if I was expecting something else.
>>24780208Eke out a living? Buddy, Cormac's movies were all vanity projects. He was ten times more financially set than Pynchon.
Should I buy my copy at Barnes and Nobles or the local independent bookstore that feels pretentious and clearly hates white men?
>>24779411Unfortunate that he's going to go out on three subpar novels in a row. "It's better to burn out than to fade away."
>>24780068He stopped writing good novels. There'd be more interest if he'd just stopped writing entirely after M&D, or maybe even Against the Day (though no one seems to have actually read that one).
>>24780331>subparWhen compared against what?
>>24780347I guess retards expect him to come out with another Gravity's Rainbow in his 80s, something completely unnecessary
>>24780347I'm comparing Pynchon novels with Pynchon novels here. GR and M&D are two of the greatest American novels of all time. V. is still one of the strongest of the post-WWII era. CoL49 is best PynchonLite. Vineland is trash. Agains the Day was good but the worst of serious, long-winded Pynchon. Inherent Vice and Bleeding Edge are mediocre Pynchon novels.
>>24780358Yes he should have done that instead of writing 3 subpar works in a row. Publish it posthumously after working on it for the last two or three decades of his life. Both he and McCarthy put out complete dogshit at the very end which is sad to see as a big fan of their works.
>>24780358>something completely unnecessaryTend to agree with this. But after the first page or two of the new one anons will seethe that it's starts out like IV
>>24780361>>24780368I wish these threads could have actually intelligent, nuanced conversations about the relative merits of these works instead of this juvenile hyperbole that makes all discussion meaningless and only reveals the limited vocabulary - and by extension, the limited capacity for thought - of the people wallowing in it.
>>24779317What cover is this?
>>24780387And when are you going to do that instead of whining like a little faggot, anon?
>>24780091women, niggers, and queers will never write anything on the level of pynchon and i don't understand why society wants us to think otherwise
>>24780401Eh, I'll just post some copypasta and call it a day.Study Pynchon's big novels. They are long and they contain words that refer to high-brow things and other words that refer to low-brow things like candy. That's been the template for modern literature since Pynchon, and it's one Pynchon invented. Whenever a writer sits down to write an ambitious work, he first writes the big number 1000 on a piece of paper because that's how many pages he has to aim for. Then he makes two columns, High and Low. In the High column he puts all the things he learned in school, and in the Low column he puts all the mass-market products he indulges in because in the end he's a regular guy like you or me. Then he creates a McGuffin. Then he comes up with as many funny name as he can like "Jeremiah Xbox-Lewinsky." And then he strings together a bunch of wild scenes the characters star in while they search for the McGuffin. But of course they never get it, the post-Pynchon writer must end the book abruptly because to do otherwise would be to succumb to base mass-market narrative techniques and this is art, baby. And there you have it. It's not easy to do. I only thought of one funny name, but you have to think of at least 50.
>>24780403Your phallogocentrism is showing. There is no difference between sheboons crying about racism and dey fat pussys, and the oeuvre of James Joyce. Decolonize your mind.
>>24780412This. We should organize a dicklit book burning.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mQ3qNf9xx0
>>24780323I'm pretty sure my local bookstore that is very gay and lame won't even have it. I can buy gay children's books though.
>>24780387Go ahead and give us an intelligent, nuanced defence of how Vineland isn't worse than Mason and Dixon or Gravitys Rainbow, and how 21stC Pynchon is equally as good as what he was writing in the previous century. I'll wait.
>>24780401The book has only been out for like three hours, what do you want from us? Those jumping to conclusions are revealing themselves as fools
>>24780420Alright, Bleeding Edge and IV have been out for much longer. Defend those ones as being of equal quality.
>>24780425Why would anyone want to get into a shitflinging contest with an angry chimpanzee?
>>24780425Bleeding Edge, IV, and Against The Day all inhabit the same world, are written largely in similar registers, and have to be read as companion pieces. Most readers have failed to do so.
>>24780415None of that is dick lit though.
>>24780440Dicklit was a phrase used for big complicated books because girls were too dumb to write or read them, it is known
>>24780440Dicklit is anything written by a (HUWHYTE) Man that requires some minor knowledge of the Western Canon to fully appreciate.
>>24780331unfortunately you are going to go out without having written anything of value, complaining that an accomplished writer isn't continuously writing the great works that you feel entitled to.
If I read the Crying of Lot 49 and hated it and thought it was a huge waste of time and thought Pynchon was dead should I read this new one?
>>24780455And you will continue to seethe about it for the next few months
>>24780444This is like saying chick lit refers to anything written by and for women. It’s every bit as retarded. Chick lit is romance slop, whether romantasy or the married-woman-goes-on-vacation-and-fucks-Fabio faire. Dick lit is history/action/detective/sci-fi slop where the protag is a gruff mans-man fighting against the a cartoonish antagonist while saving and fucking some dime. Dont allow disingenuous shitposters, whether cunts or incels, to alter already slang-use language
>>24780454The Western Canon itself is, arguably, just dicklit with a few token females sprinkled in>>24780457Sure go nuts, see what happens
>>24780457Depends on why you didn't like it, but the answer is probably skip Shadow Ticket
>>24780454No, it isnt. See: >>24780463
>>24780463>>24780469May I have a source on this, brother?
I still need to read this monster of a novel cause I bought it not that long ago
>>24780463Dicklit was purely a term of derision used by foids and betamales, and he's entirely correct in how it's used. No one calls mass produced scifi and action slop "dicklit".
>>24780323Barnes and Noble
>>24780471I read this earlier this fall, it was a ton of fun. Goes from complete zaniness to surprising grimness.
>>24780474its sad that is the preferred option but thats how things have shaken out
>>24780473>he lol
>>24780460seethe about what
>>24780444>>24780454>>24780470>>24780473This really set (You) off.
Am I the only one reading shadow ticket right now. Should we make a new thread for it? Seems only slightly necessary, would prefer to keep it more focused though.
>>24780484Well I only responded to your disagreement once.
>>24780478Preferred option is posted above ITT, if you want to give Pynchon money just cashapp him
>>24780485explicitly state it's for discussion of shadow ticket. maybe wait, i doubt there will be a good thread until enough anons have started it/read it. i haven't even received my copy yet.
>>24780336>He stopped writing good novels.He wrote 3 masterpieces and decided to phone it in after, so what. Most writers can't even dream of writing one masterpiece. I say ol' Pinecone's doing pretty good. Look at how many get Pynched off GR alone.
>>24780504I don't think any of his novels are phoned in, personally.
I'm going to READ Pynchon and /lit/ can't stop me
>>24780504>He wrote 3 masterpieces and decided to phone it in after, so what. Most writers can't even dream of writing one masterpiece.that's actually a good way of looking at it
This is the first book ive ever preordered (or will read within 1 year of its publication) since the 3rd Harry Potter.
>>24780504I don't disagree, I just think it's a valid explanation for why people lost interest. Artists that create one or two masterpieces and never create anything else achieve a cult-like, mythical status. Artists that create one or two masterpieces and then continue to put out crap often end up forgotten or ignored.
>>24778899>dude poop
>>24780504McCarthy never phoned it in. His last two books were his most esoteric and experimental.
>>24780517Literally same as me. I think I read dance of dragons the year it released though.
>>24778899I read V and the first half of gravity’s rainbow. I felt nothing. This author is just not for me I guess
>>24780524Perhaps a personal preference but I have always hated when writers attempt to create 2Smart4U characters. The sections from the sister's perspective were very corny: "she's like...such a mystical genius that I can't even put it into rational thought so I'm going to use HALLUCINATIONS and SCHIZOrambling to get the point across." It's unfortunate because McCarthy clearly did a lot of research into theoretical physics and mathematics while writing the work, it's clear from everything written from the main character's perspective.
>>24780537Her hallucinations were a result of being literally schizophrenic, not of her being a genius.
>>24780549Now this is just being facetious. She's supposed to be a super genius but McCarthy wasn't capable of writing someone more intelligent than his main character (who's knowledge probably represents what McCarthy himself knows) and so the mentall illness is a copout for not being able to articulate the mind of a supergenius. It's the classic trope of genius running up against the edges of madness that has been done for centuries. Look beyond the plot itself and think about WHY authors write things the way they do, and not just the WHAT that constitutes the novels plot.
>>24778899sell me the book
>>24780560Holy condescension Batman! How high off of your own farts are you?
>>24780563No. You can't handle the book.
>>24780563I am not a book store
>>24780566I believe in your intelligence anon, and I know that you did not actually enjoy any of those hallucination sections. I know you don't like these 2Smart4U characters either and find them grating. It's okay to admit it.
>>24780573Book Seller. I am going on a perilous journey, and I require your strongest books.
>>24780563Litterally posted in catbox link. As to why you should read it? It's based on the first two pages it is a noir private investigator book based in the prohibition era in the Milwaukee area
>>24780172
>>24780583>MilwaukeeI thought he was supposed to go to Hungary?
>>24780583you seem knowledgeable about books good sir.if I like movies like The Last Seduction and other erotic thrillers. what would you recommend
>>24780586I haven't read that far yet, but yes I've read the blurb about it posted by the publisher
>>24780395Europe I think.
>>24780036lmao this cunt wanted Donald Trump swiming in mayonaisse or sum shit lik that fuck jews
>>24780549Cope
>>24780588Hmmm I liked Inherent Vice, there was a fantastic sex scene in it and the movie but in terms of noir I only know about LA Noir, Roger Rabit, and oddly a movie called Dead Ringer. Oh and Chinatown of course.
>>24780586No, he IS hungry. Hungry for cheese products.
The fact that it's set so long ago gives me hope. Ruggles is at his most self-indulgent and flat when he writes about things he lived through himself: IV, Vineland, I'll admit I haven't read Bleeding Edge but from what I've heard that's even worse because he was writing about things he was already too old to fully grasp. They aren't bad books but bad Pynchon because he can't distance himself properly.His best work is his truly historical fiction, playing around with completely alien concepts like 18th century astronomy and turn-of-the-century failed physics theories so that they come to life in interesting ways. Hopefully that's what this is.The only real breaks in the mold here are V. (whose strongest sections are still the historical ones) and Lot 49, which I guess was just an anomaly. Maybe making the protagonist a woman let him detach or something.
>>24780614>I'll admit I haven't read Bleeding Edge but from what I've heard that's even worse because he was writing about things he was already too old to fully grasp.You fell for the Kojimbo meme, didn't you
>>24780614>I'll admit I haven't read Bleeding Edge but from what I've heard that's even worse because he was writing about things he was already too old to fully grasp.It was actually shocking how bad it was. I'm really looking forward to Shadow Ticket cause I would've hated him to go out on a low like that.
I don't think I'll hang around in the threads to come all day but if anyone happens to have questions of linguistic or historical character about Hungary I might just try to answer them. I heard that the novel has quite a bit to do with Hungary, a setting that is probably not easy to get a grasp on if you are an American or really a westoid in general.>t. guy who made 3 threads about Mészöly Miklós a month ago that went nowhere
>>24780623I don't know what meme you mean, was Metal Gear referenced in it or something? I vaguely remember people shitposting about a very clunky Pokemon reference.>>24780630Yeah, I think I'm gonna continue avoiding it. Even if he wrote some bad books, like previous anons said, he's made multiple genuine masterpieces so if he wants to plop out a couple fantasies where his self-insert and his friends get high and win the girl he's earned that right.>>24780637Why was Melancholy of Resistance so goddamn oppressively dark? Barely anything really happened but few other books have given me such a visceral reaction. I felt like I was choking while reading it and like I was dirty for days afterward.Do you like Antol Szerb and Journey by Moonlight?
>>24780653>I don't know what meme you mean, was Metal Gear referenced in it or something?Yes.
>>24780172Just highlight the text you want to spoiler and hit ctrl+s
>>24779011>he uses the local public libraryBasest anon in the thread!
>>24780653>Why was Melancholy of Resistance so goddamn oppressively dark?Haven't read it, Krasznahorkai always came off as a fraud and a celebrity to me, honestly, in the same manner many accuse Beckett of being a celebrity fraud in the Anglosphere. He reads like somebody doing a tongue in cheek parody of Mészöly in many ways, with a kind of smug contempt for the simple folk that, while understandable due to his heritage, is wholly alien to somebody like Mészöly or really any intellectual ancestors like Móricz Zsigmond and Babits Mihály. He's also politically repugnant, like I'm not going to read your fucking book if you thought it was a high enough honor to be Ginsberg's cicerone that one time to write about it.>Do you like Antol Szerb and Journey by Moonlight?He's a bit too much of a lukewarm midwit for my tastes, so can't exactly say that I like him. He can be kind of fun for a while, but he's far too overrated, presumably due to the circumstances of his death and his book about the history of hungarian literature becoming a huge commercial hit during the communist decades, plus all that cloying bourgeois nostalgia in the years after communism ended...Márai is less bad, if still far from excellent, to put it one way.
>>24780661Wow it worked! What other cool tricks do you know? I have been manually messing up spoiler tags for a decade.
>>24780064East Coast. Just got a notice that my copy has arrived. Shall I roll downstairs, open the package, and post the result?
>>24780727Why? It's just going to be the book, bro
damn, wish I could buy it nowkinda broke atm unfortunately
Is anyone going to pay an extra $10-15 for the UK cover? I hate the American cover so much, the different font might be worth it.
>>24780727I'd be more interested in seeing a video of you rolling down the stairs tbqhfam
>>24780748Correct. Nonetheless
>>24780754Perhaps next week
>>24780756That's some fine liquor you got there, Stairmaster
>>24780756Why do you keep your bourbon out in the light?
>>24780762He definitely posed it there purposefully like some kind of fag.
>>24780756looks good
>>24780387Everything since MD has been mid to worse and those two aren't half as knives out as they could be. Arguing between styles and schools is a fixture of all art and art criticism.>>24780410>That's been the template for modern literature since PynchonMore puerile than not and an excuse to fob off insouciance as seriousness. Crying Lot is his actual claim to fame as a self-admitted shitpost. Gravity's Rainbow has the same cachet as his Cornell chum's Slaughterhouse-5 as a memoir of his signals intelligence days during WW2, and parading conspicuous for the time amount of knowledge of German Wonder Weaponry.>>24780431>viz. they don't stand on their ownSerial pastiche. Against the Day is the most egregious.
>>24780766That is a Bourbon bottle somewhat hidden at viewer's right, an emptied Rye Whiskey bottle at the left. I've been remiss is all; they're emptied
>>24780767Actually, I didn't. But I might've had I thought to, no denying
>>24780767Indubitably
anyone read Against the Day?is it any good?
>>24780801YesYes
>>24780799
>>24780042>I love him for it. I really do
If I enjoyed Gravity's Rainbow and loved Mason & Dixon, should I go for Against the Day or Shadow Ticket? Serious question.
>>24780817Against the Day, it's a big, ambitious book like those other two only not really because all three of them are completely different
>>24780817no one actually read Shadow Ticket yet anon, a couple of anons maybe just started reading it
>>24780816
>200 replies>not a single word about the actual contents of the bookNo one reads Pynchon. You just pretend to to feel intelligent.
>>24780833The book came out today, who the hell has already finished it?
Byron the Bulb kills Dumbledore
>>24780895Honestly I wouldn't put it past him.
>>24779016>rightoid seething over anti-Zognald wrongthinksigh
>>24778899Dear Thomas Pynchon,You are an uncultured plebeian of the lowest common denominator and I first realized this when I happened to chance upon Gravity'sRainbow in 2nd grade. Scatological ramblings such as yours may impress the dimwitted hoi polloi and the cultural marxists who have transformed our nation's august universities into dens of iniquity -- but all the proud, intelligent, white men who have refused to fall prey to your style of degeneracy must surely look upon your writing with nothing but the lowest contempt.Excuse me, I am getting ahead of myself--I had intended to start this letter by mentioning how much I loved the porno videos that your niece was in. Your niece is such a fucking slut, holy shit. Her "Expert Guide to Anal Pleasure for Men" was supremely beneficial to me in many ways; I hope I'm not being too forthcoming when I say there is a special spot deep in the craw of my bodice that your niece and her talents have--exacerbated, let's say?Now, I am not tasteless nor a hypocrite -- my standards of porn are very high: no filthy nonCaucasians; there must be art in the direction, choreography, the rhythm of the grunting and smacking flesh (one recalls Joyce's love letters to Norah as art of the highest calibre -- and again, I am not hypocritical, before you pounce on this, for Joyce's scatology is of more majestic artistic quality than anything you could ever make, you charlatan!); and finally, there should be some sexual freedom -- I simply cannot stand the dull sexual norms we are expected to conform to, and pride Joyce on his explicit descriptions of Molly "pegging" Bloom. That means I now sport a constant companion in the form of a dutiful colostomy bag.But, on to the real meat of this epistle, Mister Pynchon. Your buck teeth: they are equal parts hilarious and repulsive. But there is something about them, Mr. Pynchon, that moves me (sexually) in a way nothing else moves me. I pulled myself off twice while reading about Maxine's being taken from behind by the guy who ripped her leggings, so thanks are due for that. "Woof-woof," barks my mad little wolf. I know how you about photographs, but please, I entreat you, send me a picture of your male clitoris. (As well as a picture of your wife's male clitoris.) I loved you in "Snatch" the scene in which you drove a deck of cards into the Sun was particularlymoving.That was fucking two sentences you nigger. Pynchon, this long preamble is mostly due to some high anxiety I've got solely because I only wanted to write you tell you that your books really suck now and I think it would behoove you to take me on as a ghost writer until you finally kick the bucket.;_; I pooped a gloop and named it Slothcrap. I'm gonna kill myself. NO MORE RUNNING. You fucking faggot.
>>24780977Checked but unfortunately not based
>>24780903>wrongthink is agreeing with every multinational and astroturfed cultural institution about everythingSigh
>>24780977I've never read your books, by the way, and I think they're all, without exception, terrible. You have a small male clitoris that's why you try so hard in your shitty books and are a recluse you ugly stupidmouthed big-nosed nothing, let's see you come out of hiding and actually do something of importance rather than sitting around collecting info on your next waste of ink and trees which just rearranges that collected info and does nothing interesting or artistic with it. Additionally, would you have sex with a guy if he paid you a reasonable sum? I'm a horny, such a horny man. You are a buttwipe, and should go drink peepee. Breed my faggot ass.Sorry I'm being so tsundere but I just <3 you sooooooooooooooo much it makes my cry: (( Yo Pynchon, I'm happy for you, and Imma let you finish, but David Foster Wallace had one of the best novels of all time! Don't add this to the letter. *tips fedora* What are you pynching on?In summation, I apologize for wasting your time and I do hope you will think about that sexual proposition. No homo. Gonna have to wash off the ol' micromale clitoris later. Also when are you going to admit to masterminding 9/11?Nevertheless, ever since I heard Lizard Foster Wallace deny that you influenced him, I have always wanted to tell you I farted (hehe). DFW is a total fucking hack who'll be forgotten within 10 short years; I'm sorry for even mentioning him to you.Your's in Christ,Tao Lin
>>24780789then why are you here?
>>24780817Probably Against the Day but nothing is really going to compare to GR and M&D
>>24780977He was in snatch?
>>24780410>That's been the template for modern literature since Pynchon, and it's one Pynchon invented.Hope this is satire because that's been a thing since Rabelais at the very least. Pynchon is probably not even the first one in his one decade of relevance because Barth and Burroughs were doing the same zany shit before him
Three chapters in and I don't care for the prose much but the humor is there. I'm sure the story will open up into something great later.sportello was such a bro I don't think mcfaggot can compare
>>24780989>wrongthink is disagreeing with a multinational-funded and astroturfed good goy who is the epitome of ZOGyawn
>>24780549>>24780560The very first conversation in the book is her explaining that she isn't crazy at all. Both of you are idiots
>>24781014>t. adopted antiozionism as a worldview as soon as it started trending on Reddit and tiktok and now thinks all xer has to do is invoke "zog" and they winPathetic
>>24781039lmao bibi is a nazi
>>24781019Oh well if a character in a novel makes a claim about themselves, it must be unquestionably true. Good point, tranon.
>>24781039>Nooooo don't remind me that the orange nigger is a zogbot that is propped up by the zionist lobby, h-he is totally counter culture... *sigh*
>>24778899this is a legendary day. probably the last happening for a long time
>>24780524I dropped it as soon as MC called the tranny character beautiful and offered to pay for his sex change. >yes this really happens
>>24781044You retards call every fotm villain nazis before moving on to the next. In this case the Jewish head of state is a nazi and not the people ideologically instructed to eliminate Jews because [ledtoid reasons]>he is totally counter culture...Compared to the alternative, literally yes
>>24781045Read the book properly, retard. She is not crazy. Those are not hallucinations. That's McCarthy's way of gesturing to the Kantian rock bottom reality that lies completely beyond the pale. You didn't get it so you twisted it into "le super genius no understand by anyone". It's a fact that LSD triggers the language centers in the brain. LSD induced hallucinations have a strong connection to how overcharged human perception attaches overwhelming amount of symbols to real objects in the world. The horts are Alicia's supersanity perceiving rock-bottom reality. They are not tied to her mind alone, which is why Bobby also met TK during his final death dream/epiphany. The gibberish sections are an attempt by rock bottom reality to "translate" itself to symbols that are understood by men.
>>24781063*Israeli head of state
>>24781074>That's McCarthy's way of gesturing to the Kantian rock bottom reality that lies completely beyond the pale>you twisted it into "le super genius no understand by anyoneNot seeing much difference here anon, especially since even the most cursory reading of Kant would let you know noumena are *entirely* inaccessible (or you could just read Schopey who spells this out for retards like you)
>>24781074>>24781096Start your own thread, fellas
>>24781074Brooooo DRUUUUUGSFuckin ELL ESS DEEPerceiving the rock (hard like my cock) bottom of the universe with a little lick of the trippy stick
>>24781098>you can't shitpost here! This is the pynchon thread!
>>24780476Its been years since I read it, but the middle section of the characters talking about the approaching war is forever in my mind
>>24781105Fair enough
>>24781105But like actually tho. There’s like 3 threads on this board at any point concerned with actual literature. Shit up the other threads?
>>24781096>even the most cursory reading of Kant would let you know noumena are *entirely* inaccessible (or you could just read Schopey who spells this out for retards like you)That's why the gibberish, hardhead. It's an aesthetic effect that would still hold some value to those who want to understand the greater context of the work. It's not a=b. The text doesn't always have to be perfectly interpretable (or even supposed to be) to deliver its message. Kant and Schopenhauer's philosophies themselves are an example of this. How can you talk about noumena without accessing it? Despite that their philosophies are still valuable. That's why Gödel is so prominently featured. "Can't know the system from within the system" but you can see its boundaries, which illuminate, via negativa, that which the system doesn't cover; or at least its shadow.
About to start reading new Pynchon holy shit. Are you guys not excited??
>>24781206I rarely buy new publications because I have an irrational despise for hardcover books.
I wish Pale Flamer were here.
>>24780833It's good so far, already had a couple songs and been confused once.
This was my first Pynchon, does it get netter than this or no?
nyrb illustration
>>24781374
>flip through the pages>see Lew Basnight mentionedfuck now I wish I finished AtD
>>24781206I am, but I'm reading it this weekend
Had to look up this delicious morsel
>still not a single discussion of any of the words on pageschrist
>>24781449Jesus christ Max jump some rope. Those calves are not good.
>>24781444My favorite words so far were "the" and "and". Professional prose.
>>24780504>He wrote 3 masterpiecesShakespeare wrote 14. 3 is embarassingly low
>>24780977Fucking based. Can you direct me to corners of the Internet with good lit info where a bunch of non-binary faggots are not around?
>>24778899I'm not getting the insane praise this is getting. It's yet another middle of the road Pynchon book, like everything he has written since, what?, Mason & Dixon?, which is fine, better than almost anything being published nowadays, but it hardly stands out in his oeuvre. I get there's an aspect of it being likely the last book of a great American writer and people want to value and celebrate that, but The Passenger had the same narrative going on and it didn't get nearly the same level of praise as this, despite, in my opinion, being far superior and offering something unique within McCarthy's work.
>Work a twelve hour shift today>Drive 15 minutes to my closet B&N>Says they have the book in stock on the internet >They have one copy and it's held>The woman had never heard of Thomas pynchon and asked me to spell itThis is what I get for not just ordering it on Amazon
Never read a Pyncon novel, which one should I read first?
>>24781701Lot 49
i read about 1.5 chapters, its pretty shitty so far. pynchon just chose a really boring subject matter. not getting into the characters or dialogue and the prose is pretty flat.
>>2477901155 in line? lmao
>>24781671Weird. My B&N had like 20 copies and I live in a 60% black city of like 20k people
>>24781825Mine is a little more rural than that I guess. The next one closer to the city apparently has eleven copies so I guess I'll drive into town on my way off tomorrow. I just felt like an idiot spelling the name pynchon to a girl carrying an armload of YA crap under a giant poster of V.
>>24779011Skill issue for not pre holding.
>>24781722You're wrong. Consider Mason and Dixon, and the period prose overload that initiates the reader into that novel: exactly the same thing's happening here. If you don't have an ear for 30's era gangster flicks or crime novels, how they dominated the big city rhythm of the time (the very early 30's) or the parlance, then you're going to feel lost, or get angry as if YOU WAS GYPT or somethin', or maybe just feel nostalgic for the 1970's: where most feel more at home.But there's a whole lot more going on here. Intimations of The Old Curiosity Shop and Our Mutual Friend (indicating that our favorite author's pretty certain that this set o' pins will be the last he sets up-- I'm thinking Skeet must be a kind of author-insert btw, given the PAST TWO NOVELS and reading not just the lines but very closely between them), for instance. The names Thessalie = witch and Daphne = reluctant abductee whose father 'saves her' from dishonor by destroying or transmogrifying her completely (of course she 'ran off' with a woodwind player = Hermes/Apollo) into a laurel-- I mean, you either started with the Greeks, anon, or you did not. But is this the story actually? Probably not, but it is the story now. This aar seems to shadow the V. theme too if I'm not mistaken, but I'm too full ATM to write adequately. I can't read this thing till the weekend but your tepid notice prompted me to read Chapter One. Already, I like it better than IV. Finding readers will take time
>>24778899I don't think Pynchon's that good.His books are turgid and you feel like maxwell's daemon trying to make sense of it as the reader.he should be paying us to read his stuff.
Pinch-on or Pine-chon?
>>24781449Is this guy cruising or what?
>>24781636In a vacuum, The Passenger may be the superior book, but it's also a book that is very coward, in the sense that it has very little to say about the current moment. Okay, it has trans representation. It gets points for that. But it's not particularly poignant about it. It just happens to have a minor character who happens to be trans. And her characterization may be good, but it's hardly making an statement. Other than that it's a very solipsistic book. It's McCarthy exploring the themes that interest to McCarthy. It's a book that could have been published at any moment in time.Shadow Ticket instead, at a surface level, may look similar, like Pynchon just doing Pynchon and writing about zany hijinks in the early 30s, but it has so much to say about the current world that it's crazy. I'm convinced he must have started writing the book during the pandemic, seeing how the far right increased their grips on power and the liberals embraced corruption instead of giving a chance to actual leftists, but instead of writing about that he went back in time to find an earlier iteration of the fractal, and it's brilliant for it.
>>24782169Look, boys, an unironic redditor in the wild!
is there some significance to the $2 bill that I'm not getting?
>>24782176Calculate the inflation and see what number you get. It's all connected.
>>24782169Shut the fuck up.
It's such a shame that there's nothing after Joyce. Only parodies.
Holy shit, almost forgot about this. Will see if my Asian home has a copy in English somewhere (would hate to read it on my Boox like I do most stuff these days). Yes, Bleeding Edge was shit but I'm hopeful this could be as good as Inherent Vice (all the haters in here need to STFU).
>still no new memesDid the Pynching fail us?
Every now and then a mood comes over me and I feel like I should reconsider giving Pynchon a chance after all, then I remember the "she held up her fur" part from GR that people used to spam years ago and I instantly feel like I ought to acknowledge the wisdom of my past self.
Discussing a bomb that went off:>"IMOPIO job, no question." Rhymes with Pinocchio.>"Howzat?">"Infernal Machine Of Presumed Italian Origin."Got a chuckle out of me
>>24782355not funny
>>24782221>Bleeding Edge was shit it was not
>>24781636I too appreciated The Passenger doing something different to the mainstream turn his latter books took. It felt more fitting to go out on an uncomfortable puzzle. It also felt like there was a turn where it could have been more like NCFOM (the salvage plot) and that’s usually what people complain about it not doing.
>>24782371Gabagoo! We're doin' crimes ovah heah
>>24781636yes, The Passenger was great
>>24781636One Battle film coming out around the same time helped as well, huge demand for his overall work in both value of his back catalog prices and library demand.
>>24782416great film
>>24782169oo now im curious abt this
>>24782169Are the trans characters raging AGPs who annoy and disgust everyone? Because if not, points off for the inaccuracy.
>>24782447not entirely true
>>24782485Entirely true and you can cope, seethe, dilate over it. Back to your containment board.
>>24782169Are trannies trying to infiltrate literature now? I know Torrey Peters got a toehold with Detransition Baby getting nominated for women's awards (kek) but that seemed like an anomaly. The rest have been stuff like Wretched Felker Martin which i encourage because they're showing the world exactly who they are. Anyway, you guys have ruined everything else, why not books too?
>>24782501Virginia Woolf already made trannies lit with Orlando
>>24782505Haven't read it, but didn't he actually change into a woman? If so, that doesn't count for obvious reasons.
>thread about new and probably the last ever Pineal Gland Variety Hour Novel>thread talks about trannies in Corncob McRib Western Union Mail Order Catalogs insteadThis really doesn't make me cha cha cha.
Is Pynchon Jewish? I remember people on here said he was but I'm not seeing anything
>>24782577He's Catholic.
>>24781433Nice! Was a little curious about that reference as well
I'm about a third through it and its really mid so far. He has been past his prime for two decades
>>24782487No
>>24782671Can someone explain to a 30+ year old what "mid" means?
>>24782701mediocre or average tier
It’s a flop. Stick to bananas Pynch.
>>24782701I'm 32 and I know what mid means. It's very common in online vernacular and has been for years.
>>24782706I'm sure it is in your tiktoks and your whamwooms and your irc-galleries and facebooks, but I don't speak any of this new lingo with the no caps and the ohio skibidis and the 6-7s
>>24782711I don't use any of those
>>24782701Annoying word used by zoomers to describe anything that doesn’t instantly blow them away. Used in lieu of giving an actual opinion since you don’t have to justify calling it bad. Perfect ragebait because the person claiming it will always come off as more nonchalant and cool-headed than anyone who challenges their claim - “it’s not that deep bro, I just thought it was mid.” Comes from the term “mids” referring to middle-shelf or mediocre quality cannabis.
>>24782578Same thing
>>24780478Literally the whole reason that B&N (and Borders RIP) killed the independent bookstore is they employed cheerful young girls as shop assistants instead of having judgy cunts sneer at your purchases over the cash register. It's unsurprising.
Mid is short for middling
>>24782731Is the word "did" short for diddling?
>>24782102https://youtu.be/-Ds4OLUDIvg
>>24782752He should do his own audiobooks
>>24781636What insane praise? Most of the reviews are middling. The Passenger was on trending when it dropped. Not nearly as much noise for Shadow ticket.
>>24782758McCarthy became a kind of celebrity, appearing on Oprah and getting multiple movie adaptations of his work, got embraced by the meme crowd with people like Wendigoon making videos on him and probably getting kids who otherwise wouldn't read into reading ol Cormac. Pynchon by contrast had his day decades before most of us were born and hasn't had a major resurgence like that. Inherent Vice remains the only adaptation of his work.
>>24782577>>24782578He's very old school WASP, one of his earliest ancestors in the new world wrote a religious pamphlet that was banned and burned for heresy. idk what Tom's personal beliefs are, ofc, but I doubt he goes to mass weekly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Pynchon
>>24782757This is the closest yer gonna gethttps://youtu.be/RjWKPdDk0_U
Pynchon should make his own podcast like BEE
>>24782765>Inherent Vice remains the only adaptation of his workImagine being this ignorant and still spewing words as though you're well-informed.
>>24782765Pynchon, even at his most famous, was a cult figure. Makes no sense to be mad about a film and book of his that dropped close together.
>>24782745...The Kenosha Kid?
>>24782776>>24782777One Battle After Another is NOT Vineland. Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.>b-butNo.
>>24782447No the main character calls him hot and says he has a sexy, raspy voice and offers to pay for his sex change because he's such a good goy, I mean guy.
>>24782691Lol, I know you guys are very confused on this point but chanting something repeatedly does not make it true. Insisting something is true does not make it true. No one likes you fetishists and we're done pretending otherwise. Go back to /tttt/ if you need validation.
I've found it helps to give everyone an exaggerated 1930's twang while reading
Ive never read a Pynchon novel. I assume I can just dive into this one yah?
>>24782825You can "just dive into" any novel, anon. Unless it's part of a series I suppose.
>>24782825Sure, if you want to waste your time on him. Pynchon’s my least favorite writer for sure, because my least favorite thing in books is goofs, gags, jokes and rambunctious behavior, and his books are filled to the brim with this. Every novel is like one of those novelty snake cans, you open the book and POP you get a face fulla snakes and you wince silently. The faggot, the redditor, to do it. And then you think “what’s he gonna do next, this shithead” and you pick the book back up and BZZZZ you get a shock and “chrissake” you've been pranked again by "the old Pynchmeister", that loser. “Did that Pynch?” he "sez", laughing “yukyukyukyuk”. Watch him as he shoves a pair of plastic buck teeth right up his mouth and displays em for you – left, right, center – “You like these? Do I look handsome?” Pulls out a mirror. “Ah!” I wish I was exaggerating. And you're in physical pain cringing as he snaps his suspenders, exits stage right, and reappears hauling a huge golden gong
>>24782805>he raged impotently behind his keyboard
>>24782832You're free to not like pynchon, but i don't understand why people get so aggressive over it
>>24782831Fair enough.
>>24782835>not recognizing the most popular /lit/ pasta but negative Ya dun goofed
>>24782767Oh interesting. It seems not too uncommon for notable writers to have other notables in their family tree
>>24782782Not the PTA adaptation of Pynchon I was thinking of, but thanks for playing.
>>24782888What are you trying to accomplish here?
>>24782895Crashing this thread>with no survivors
>>24782895Are you on SSRIs? It's not that deep.
>>24782844I never said it wasn't pasta
>... a warmer, gayer Hitler ...Classic Pynchon.
>>24782833Speaking of impotent, enjoy having your hrt criminalized soon. :-)
>>24782789Pynchon is a GAMP confirmed
>>24782832This. Pynchon is too goofy, wacky, zany, and odd for me personally.
>>24782702Is it short for "mediocre" though? Like, "med" is short for " medic" and "mid" for " " mediocre"?
>>24783007Enjoy having trannies rule your brain
>>24783264Lol, you're the one in here whining about mccarthy not including transwomen. You're the one basing your entire life on a lie. In 10 years, your trend will be done, medical transitioning will be viewed like lobotomies, and everyone will have moved on, but you'll still have dysphoria and a chopped up body. Enjoy.
>>24782447No. She's a turbo HSTS passoid and it's honestly a pretty lovely and moving character, and I said this as someone who finds the tranny agenda and most trannies incredibly obnoxious.
>>24782409Brilliant novel. I'd say it's a top 5 McCarthy's book. Definitely not on the same level as Blood Meridian or Suttree, but I think it's on par with the first two in the Border Trilogy. Stella Maris was a solid read too, but didn't like how much of a hard on it had for the jews nor that it retroactively made Bobby and Alice partly jewidh. It does make sense though. I can see the jewness in them, but when I was reading The Passenger I pictured Bobby as the ultimate all American boy, and I liked him better that way.
>>24783349Cope, transphobe.
>>24782895The adaptation you're looking for is Gravity's Rainbow as Nolan's Oppenheimer
>>24782091Pic rel?
>>24783458>Cope, transphobe.>transphobereddit
>>24783458dilate and mald
so it's a flop, eh?
>>24782671For those of us who are reading: I was also annoyed at the start, because private detective agency is such a forced setup, and the guys at the agency blend together way too much for the comic dialogue to work. Setting is cool though, so I'll see what he can do with it. There are neat little flourishes, but no ecstatic passages so far
>>24784133I thought it was a banger of a first line, had me hooked. The whole first page is great actually
>>24782701mid = meh
>>24782832Good post. Too bad the anons on this sub chan don't appreciate literacy anymore.
>>24782577His paternal grandmother is a Moyses per Geni, but I haven't found anything on his mother's side, so he's not a Jewish Jew afaik.
