907. Mason & Dixon

Mason & Dixon
Thomas Pynchon

1997
Around 775 pages

I find Thomas Pynchon tedious and exhausting, and he really outdid himself here. Not only is this a 775 page work, but it also earns extra annoyance points with its frequent capitalization and overly stylized diction. 

Well, if you ever wanted to read a fictionalized account of the collaboration between Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, this is the book for you. I'm not sure why you would be fixated on perhaps the most boring partnership in American history, but that's your business.

If I had to come up with a positive to say, I guess I would point out that it is more readable than Gravity's Rainbow, and there wasn't any disturbing imagery that is going to haunt me forever. So that's something I guess. What a yawn.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Mark Knopfler wrote a song about the book called "Sailing to Philadelphia,” originally performed as a duet with James Taylor.

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