Pages

Friday, August 18, 2023

576. V.

V.
Thomas Pynchon
1963
Around 550 pages



















My old nemesis. I knew the day would come when Pynchon joined the List. I just wished I would be dead by then. Oh well, there's still hope. We have five more of these to go.

V. describes the exploits of a discharged Navy sailor named Benny Profane. He interacts with the Whole Sick Crew, which is an assortment of bohemians and other people I'll be forced to watch Cats with in hell. I guess the main narrative is Herbert Stencil trying to locate the mysterious entity known as V. 

Pynchon always bores me into a stupor so I always have a hard time following the plot. Bloated with really unlikable characters and I hate his style.  

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

The line "Yesterday's headlines blown by the wind" in Radiohead's "Scatterbrain" was inspired by a passage from the novel.

V for Vendetta includes the title character V quoting and reading from Pynchon's book.

UP NEXT: Herzog by Saul Bellow

1 comment:

Diana said...

I will join you in your dislike. I do not like books that I can't follow. I was surprised by Interesting Facts. Did THEY like his writing?