Where do I start with him? Is there a flow chart? I own GR, TCoL49,

V. -> Lot 49 -> GR -> M&D

The other ones aren't worth it

>>8519037
what about ATD?

>>8519079
Half is up to snuff, the other drags. If Pynchon's your boy, I'd say it's maybe worth it, but I'd just reccomend moving on to other postmodern lit at that point.

>>8519025
Start with Lot 49 because not only will it give you a succinct taste of the essence of Pynchon, but it's also very short so you don't have to invest much, and it's the most-read Pynchon book. After that you can read V. if you like or go straight to GR, because, honestly, nothing prepares you for GR. I do recommend reading V. at some point though. After GR you can go anywhere. And yes, they are worth it.

Lot 49 is his best. this board views length and difficulty as synonyms for quality. read V. first if you're reading his first three.

>>8519190
Why?
What makes him so good?

Based on how he is spoken about here, and excerpts, it just seems like lulsorandom and protomemes?

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>>8519025
Yes, here.

>>8519689
Forgot to add, if you make it to GR and can only find a penguins classic edition (as they are seemingly the most ubiquitous) the litmus test to see if your copy is error ridden is to see if the last sentence of pg 139 is sensical or not, in the misprints there is an entire clause omitted leaving a nonsense sentence fragment.

>>8519666
Read him and find out. And if you still don't get it read some academic stuff on him.

>>8519037
>This
Then maybe W. Gass or W. Gaddis

>>8519695
>Can't articulate what makes a writer good
>Recommends reading academic literary criticism to "find out" why he is good
You sound like the worlds biggest pseud, t-b-h.

>>8519634
TCoL49 is just a glorified wacky mystery novella with some basic symbolism attached for that sweet "high-brow" cred.

It always feels like the Simpsons writers are trying to seem snoody when they include a writer who only has cultclasses to his name

>>8519777
>wants a succinct explanation of what makes a writer "good" instead of actually reading them
ok

>>8519711
What's the difference between Will G. and Will G.?

>>8520099
They're different people

>>8519666
His best books know how to alternate between bullshiting you, dazzling you woth technique and actually telling a story in a way that still keeps you drawed in.

>>8520099
>>8520106
I'll rephrase: what's the difference between their respective work? They both get memed on here, but I don't have a sense of who is better to start with, what literary traditions they follow/expand upon, their subject matter and style, etc.

>>8520187
Gaddis pretty much invented literary postmodernism. Gass is a little more Joycean in his language, but his first book, Omensetter's Luck is a great read.

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>>8520197
Thanks, this helps. I'm doing a bit of research on their main works and inserting them into my queue.

Out of curiosity, where do the Will G's lie in terms of "difficulty" (meaning opaqueness of prose)? On a scale of Pynchon (being very readable, albiet perhaps dense or obscure) to McElroy (being next to fucking impossible to subvocalize )?

Start with the first book he published and continue in chronological order.

This is the optimal path for 99% of writers so I don't know why people ask this question so often.

>>8521366
Gaddis is on the Pynchon side of things, maybe even a bit less dense. J R can throw you for a loop at first because the text is made up completely of unattributed dialogue, but it's easy enough to get into.

As for Gass, Omensetter's Luck is pretty approachable, but The Tunnel wore me out quick. Very verbally indulgent in the McElroy/Barth sense.

Is it just me or does Lot 49 really suck? I loved V, and Inherent Vice, but something about Lot 49 just seems like he's trying way too hard to be clever without setting up a decent story first.

>>8521473

I find Pychon easy to start hating, but no.

>>8521473
>without setting up a decent story first.

Inherent Vice doesn't have a 'decent story' either, I thought that was a common thing in Pynchon's writing.

>>8521473
Pynchon himself hates 49 and considers it his weakest work

>>8521505
Sauce?

>>8521506
he says it in Slow Learner somewhere, don't have the exact quote