Has anyone here read The Crying of Lot 49?

[Gravitycollapse]

The main character Oedipa Maas is really interesting. Pynchon manages to make her subversive without making it gaudy. I think it's beautiful penmanship. Anyway, I love Pynchon on an unhealthy level so I tend to worship his works. But I really do like Oedipa as a sympathetic character even if one interpretation of the novella is that she's psychotic. If that is true, it's not the typical "hysterical woman" form of psychosis. It's classic paranoid Pynchon.

Anyway, if you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend it. I'm nearly finished and it's already on my list of greatest books.

[Tace]

1. It's Been A While...

maybe 25 years.

I'm a Pynchon fan, too, especially his works through Gravity's Rainbow. I've gotten bogged down with Vineland and Mason and Dixon, and haven't cracked his later work, yet.

Pynchon can be very demanding on the reader.

I'll pull it out and take a look at Oedipa. Thanks, Cheers. --Tace

[Nitram]

2. Read it years ago...

...before reading V and Gravity's Rainbow. I recommend "Crying" to those who haven't read Pyncheon because it is shorter and more accessible than his other works. Gravity's Rainbow is an amazing novel.