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Book Review of The Crying of Lot 49

The Crying of Lot 49
Leigh avatar reviewed on + 378 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2


I'm still on the fence as to what this book truly deserves to be rated. I think this was just one long, intentional acid trip. I understand that Pynchon wanted to be "post-modern" and bring all of the current 1960s events and icons in to join in the raucous fun as Oedipa tracked down the secret postal delivery service, W.A.S.T.E. (A big waste of time, if you ask me). I also understand that Pynchon wanted to make the point that labels didn't mean a thing and so he gave his characters names that seemed to mean something and really didn't (Dr. Hilarius, Oedipa, Inverarity, etc.). Pynchon thinks he's clever and he just isn't. He's not amusing, either.

Imagine reading a David Lynch film. Yes, reading a David Lynch film. Can you imagine it? If you dig it, read this and probably go get Gravity's Rainbow, too. If not, stay away.

Despite all of this, Pynchon effectively wrote a post-modern novel, so he was successful. He blended together a hot mess of many genres: a novel, a detective noir, a play (sick, sick, sick!), poems, and songs. Kudos, Pynchon. You still wrote a horrible book.