I'm having a hard time reading Gravity's Rainbow...

http://gravitys-rainbow.pynchonwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page&oldid=2104

>>9428548
The context is WW2 aka WW II.

>>9428548
literally just keep reading

This might help*
>http://www.math.harvard.edu/~ctm/links/culture/rainbow.bell.html

Mostly though, another reading later on.

>>9428548
>For example, maybe I'm missing some historical context.
How? Did you neither go to school or live through at least 12 years?

>>9428555
>literally just keep reading

That's what I do. But I feel like i'm missing on some of the chapters.

>>9428551

That may help actually. Thanks.

>>9428548
the trick to reading Gravity's Rainbow is to not think too hard about it. REmember that the original title of the book that Tommy planned for it was "Mindless Pleasures",before he thought that "Gravity's Rainbow" sounded more badass. Just read it and don't think too hard about it and it'll become clear what Pynchon is trying to do, just enjoy the dude's prose, there are some passages where he makes himself pretty clear

>>9428564
The first 180~ pages are like that, after that it becomes a lot easier
Just keep reading, or not.
Google the ottosell guide, is really simple and helpful

>>9428576

I had a feeling it was all about prose, but there are just some ideas in there that... UGH

>>9428586
No, GR has ideas, and there are passages where Pynchon makes those ideas extremely clear. That's why nobody can really tell you anything other than just read it.

>>9428586
Pynchon is like Borges's hippie, druggie child

Is /lit/ actually just middle school children? I didn't find the context that mystifying when I read it 17 years ago at the age of 14. Its summer in /lit/.

>>9428633
Pff, I read it when I was 7 and understood every reference

>>9428641
I was 4 when I ghost writed the book for him, all Pynchon did has adding those stupid songs

>>9428570
cheers

Is there any good secondary material for after you read the book? Like YouTube videos or anything. I've found very little of anything to help me digest

>>9428586
>>9428606
''Ugh'' wasn't meant to be critical tho

>>9428557
nice, that might actually helpo too, thx

>>9428551

First Entry

> Captain Pirate Prentice dreams of an evacuation of London. He awakens at dawn, and shoves his bed beneath the balcony to break the fall of a sleeping Teddy Bloat. He climbs to a rooftop banana garden, sees the vapor trail of a rocket launch across the Channel ("incoming mail," he thinks), and proceeds to pick bananas.

I really do need to read this.

>>9430308
>opens with a dream sequence
dropped

>>9430326
>rest of the book is a masterpiece
Picked up

>>9428928
The Pynchon in Public podcast is pretty great but otherwise there's really not much online

>>9430326
"""dream""""

also the opening paragraph is sick

So how old was Bianca?

>>9428548
You got memed

>>9431783
I don't know but I fapped to that passage

>>9428548
Same here, been a long time since a book actually made me feel stupid. Not only with the references, but the actual construction of sentences and flow of plot.

Still, I *think* I'm following it pretty good so far. I mean, I might be getting it all, but I don't actually know if I'm fundamentally misunderstanding shit. Some parts of the books are very straightforward however. Others...I just read a like, 4 page diversion about a nazi captain and his two sex-slaves play S&M Hansel and Gretel, from an opening that was just two people in an aparatment.

I'm going to push through and look up the annotations and all for my second read-through.

>>9431783
TOO OLD

File: 21_C181_path-to-god.jpg (138KB, 720x540px) Image search: [Google]

138KB, 720x540px

Anyone else think Eva EP21 is a retelling of Pokler's Story?

>>9430308
it's even better in prose

>>9428548
Keep reading dumbass

This is the last book you should read. As in, read all the other books in preparation to this one

>>9433596
oh pls, he's just pomo Faulkner