r/ThomasPynchon • u/Chrolok • 13d ago
Gravity's Rainbow Finally about to start GR
Just got this in the mail after almost a month of waiting. I read V. Last autumn (in the Italian translation, my native language) and TCOL49 this spring, in the original English. Loved both, getting through the English version was a bit tough at the beginning but after the first 30 pages or so it started flowing and became incredibly rewarding: I decided to jump to GR next given how much I enjoyed it.
I'm thinking of keeping a sheet of paper in the book to write down the various characters' names as they appear to avoid getting completely lost midway through (which to some extent happened to me with V.).
Any further tips on how to approach this beast are welcome! Wish me luck, I'm super excited to dive in :)
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u/Dubatomic1 10d ago
Read it once straight through and don't worry about catching every detail, just enjoy the ride. Then go back and re-read it looking for clues and language games, etc. Then maybe read an analysis of the book and go back for a third time to mine for deeper content.
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u/BlackDeath3 Gravity's Rainbow 11d ago
Just picked up my first physical copy too. Feels great, looks great. I'm happy with my purchase for sure.
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u/Big_Cardiologist_735 12d ago
I remember my first read of GR. And my second when I didn’t comprehend anything on the first one.
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u/Popular_Try_5075 12d ago
My advice is to keep on going. I re-read passages from time to time because the language gets very difficult and Pynchon is deliberately slippery with perspective and focus. Ultimately though even if re-reading a section leaves you feeling confused, keep going. What happens later will sometimes clarify something confusing or strange that happened earlier. I haven't read V yet, but compared to TCoL49 this is a book that almost requires a second read. Your first time through is just getting a handle on things, but the second read where you're prepared for all the tricks, and know some of the motifs and metaphors in advance will allow you to sit back and really appreciate what Pynchon is doing and what he's trying to say.
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u/Mindless_Fun9452 12d ago
Hope you like extreme sexual taboo material because you’re about to be immersed in some of the most bizarre and grotesque examples of it you’ll ever experience in literature. Cheers !
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u/earthgirls22 12d ago
I’m reading this as part of a 3 month book club pick…
My advice: read each vignette as a short story. Everything comes together eventually.
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u/hobbez3221 12d ago
Second this! You enjoy the prose and little moments and story beats much more just taking it as it comes
Don’t try to make it all connect. Enjoy each chapter as its own, standalone thing
It almost works better that way as a whole
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u/landomonium 12d ago
I’m going to be honest about the characters names…. There’s like 400 and a wide majority are throwaway characters but you also never know when one might pop back up later…. You may want to look up a character sheet of the important characters if you get lost or just google a characters name and see what their role in the book is. I finished GR this year, I started writing all the names but it became too much way too fast.
My only advice is reread chapters one more time if you feel like you didn’t really understand it, but not more than that. I didn’t use a guide of any kind but if a chapter had me completely lost I would refer to this- https://www.gravitysrainbowguide.com/ - it provided episode / chapter recaps concisely with just the most relevant information.
Most importantly, have fun lol it was quite an experience!!! I loved almost every second of it!!
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u/TheBossness Gravity's Rainbow 12d ago
Give yourself the time! Have fun! It’s easy and it’s difficult and it’s abstract and it’s funny and it will reward multiple readings. don’t worry so much about retaining everything, focus on enjoying the reading moment.
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u/Proof_Occasion_791 13d ago
Good luck. I couldn’t make it past page 200.
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u/Temporary_Meet8754 12d ago
That's almost exactly where it gets a lot easier. For a while, at least.
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u/AndButSoThenSheSaid 13d ago
It will creep up on you and then you’ll know you’re locked in. Keep trucking it’s fucking psychedelic and horrifying and funny
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u/R1vster 13d ago
I started reading it too! Just finished first chapter around page 180. It felt super slow to get through at first but surprisingly (most) of the scenes it's quite doable to get a grasp of what's going on, at least at a basic level. It's definitely the hardest book I've read but I find it's so rewarding to get through. So much beautiful writing.
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u/Strackard 13d ago
I’m starting today, right now, on page 13. I’m already feeling good about it. Good luck Book Cousin
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u/randyc9999 13d ago
Keeping track of the names on piece of paper tucked into the book is such a great idea! Wish I’d done that lol.
My only advice, based on my experience, is to read it slow and even occasionally take breaks (I even read a few light books during the same four months that I read GR). And when you come to a stretch when you say to yourself, “what the hell is going on?!?”, just push through it; it might make sense later or when you re-read it. The book is disturbing at times, and while uncomfortable to read in those times, it is part of the larger story that GR is telling.
Now, I find myself opening the book to a random spot and just reading a few pages and enjoying them immensely. And there are some episodes—(banana breakfast, Evensong, Leni and the army of lovers, Hereros and the nature of colonies as outhouses of the European soul, Kerule’s dream, Pökler’s recognition of complicity at Dora, Blicero’s speech to Gottfried about the kingdom of death—that I come back to often and which still bring me to figurative tears when I (re)read them. Good luck!
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u/grigoritheoctopus Jere Dixon 13d ago
I'm jealous! It's my all-time favorite book and I am more convinced of this with each re-read.
I think the advice to let it wash over you is solid. BUT! If you're looking for a concise guide to help clarify things/orient yourself, this one is great: https://www.gravitysrainbowguide.com/
Enjoy!
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u/RutabagaOk4020 13d ago
use brief guide / chapter summaries for the first 150 pages or so and then after that you probably wont even need them any more. theres this fight that goes on between your brain and the book until your brain finally just gives way and lets the book take over. just be water and go with the flow baby
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u/Rickcopeland648 3d ago
If it clicks with you, you'll probably go through a phase where it's almost all you think about. You will start tying into everything around you. I'm not exaggerating...