589. The Crying of Lot 49

The Crying of Lot 49
Thomas Pynchon
1966
Around 150 pages

This is going to be the most favorably reviewed Thomas Pynchon novel on the List, because it is the shortest.

The main character is named Oedipa, so the eye rolling began pretty early. Oedipa is married to Mucho Maas, who is a major perv, and regularly sees a therapist Dr. Hilarius, who is a major psycho. Her rich ex lover dies, leaving her as the executor of the estate. She meets the ex-lover's lawyer, and begins an affair. A teenaged band, The Paranoids, become fascinated with their affair and follow them around.

God, these character names. Nobody behaves realistically, and the humor never hits the mark for me. I don't like these kind of drug induced stories, where everybody seems to be either hallucinating or stoned out of their mind.

But like I said, I appreciate that this wasn't 700 pages. 

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Included in Time's 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

Radiohead alludes to the novel in the name of their online merchandise shop and mailing list, W.A.S.T.E.

UP NEXT: Giles Goat-Boy by John Barth