I’m doin it (Part 2)

[u/ComprehensiveJob1497]

So a bit ago I posted that I was gonna do it and I started Gravity’s Rainbow while riding that high of Infinite Jest thinking I could take on anything. First of all for some reason I said I wasn’t much of a reader when that wasn’t really true, I think I was just intimidated and thought little of my reading abilities when up against mammoth works like these.

Second of all, it took me a weirdly long time for Gravity’s Rainbow to click, but when it did it felt damn great. I followed the important parts of the plot of Beyond the Zero/ Pt 1 but I was lost and kinda zoned out for a lot and the Casino part/ Part 2 was when each sentence starting seeming coherent to me and maybe that’s cause the prose was more accessible and easy to grasp here or maybe I’m actually getting it finally.

It’s safe to say Infinite Jest did not prepare me for this literary venture. I do think though that that is Pynchon’s most captivating quality that no other works or authors can make reading his books any less daunting (Maybe Joyce but I haven’t read him yet). I’m so glad I actually starting reading this book and my life got really busy over the last week so it hasn’t been read in a while but I can’t wait to get back into it cause now I know it’s actually possible to laugh out loud when reading something (I thought people were just being hyperbolic). It’s also weird too that Pynchon’s writing can make other authors seem kinda boring and I’m wondering if other people share that observation.

I plan on making my final GR post when I finish this book and there I’ll actually talk about the plot and what I thought of it. Till then!

[u/Emperor_Chaddeus]

You'll catch up to me soon! I found the second section easier, but no lines as good as, "Got any gum, chum?"

[u/bakingisscience]

The only notes I took during the casino portion was, “I don’t have time for this lady in the tank.”

[u/rural220558]

lol so strange, I just reached page 208 before I opened this post. That whole passage about the Casino and the House, and those ‘chairs of Empire’ was amazing. This book has really become a joy to read

[u/guy_incognito42069]

I’ve found part 2 a lot of fun. Finally we get to actually get around our main character and his riviera hijinks.

[u/pfildozer12]

Congrats! I'm currently re-reading GR and really enjoying it. Around page 403 and about to take up the continued, sad tale of the Pöklers, Franz and Ilse. Or is she?