Skip to main content

V. by Thomas Pynchon

Cover to the European edition

I was so blown away by Inherent Vice, that I have to read V. now. This book came out in 1963. It was his first novel, and I think goes well with Gravity's Rainbow. I plan to read both this summer.

Wikipedia summarizes the novel thus: It describes the exploits of a discharged U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York with a group of pseudo-bohemian artists and hangers-on known as the Whole Sick Crew, and the quest of an aging traveler named Herbert Stencil to identify and locate the mysterious entity he knows only as "V."

Pynchon Wiki has a section of supportive notes for the novel.

Reading group guide from Publisher.

Reddit reading group.

New Yorker

Mack Hayden

7 known photos of Thomas Pynchon.

Pynchon is heady, hard to follow dreamscapes of various existential, historical self journeys alive to culture: military to jazz, opera to debauchery. It’s got a whiff of Ulysses, and a million other books the reader can imagine into these interactions and imaginations, like imaginary riffs. As unique as a jazz solo by a musician with a distinct voice.

One layer is the sacred and the profane. I honestly never really understood the distinction, I think everything is sacred, nothing profane. But in chapter 4 Shoenmaker's desire to become a doctor to help rebuild Godolphin's face feels sacred. I'm confused because Halidom is a character, and the word means something held sacred, but he seems to be the opponent to Shoenmaker.

I asked Reddit about the sacred and profane in Buddhism, but I don't think it holds up.

Pynchon described a character as an anarchist, and I've been studying that by reading Wikipedia pages, and posts on Reddit. This one is about how to be an anarchist and a Buddhist. 

The stone forests of Queens refers to all the cemetery in Queens. There are a few.

Pynchon is hard to read because you're always looking things up. Then once I'm on the computer, I follow things for a while. At times I struggled to read V. 

The Uffizi is an art museum in Florence Italy. It contains the Birth of Venus. I actually had a poster of that on my wall not too long ago before it fell down.


Links:

THE SACRED, THE PROFANE, AND THE CRYING OF LOT 49

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspare_Tagliacozzi. In the rhinoplasty chapter, he's mentioned.

https://biblioklept.org/2021/04/05/father-fairings-sewer-rat-parish-thomas-pynchon/

Quote I liked from book


I got to 222 of 547 before I had to return the book.


And then I got it back and finished it 11/4/22.

Tyrosemiophile: collector of cheese labels. 

Chapter 15 discussion:

"Stencil's response to Rachel's note - "mene, mene, tekel, upharsin," - translates to "numbered, numbered, weighed, divided" and is the message found on the palace wall of the king of Babylon signifying that God had numbered the king's days, weighed him and found him wanting and would divide his kingdom."

Chapter 16 discussion


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Character list of Inherent Vice the novel

Fay "Shasta" Hepworth played by Katherine Waterston in the 2014 movie Larry "Doc" Sportello: Our hero, gumsandal.  Shasta Fay Hepworth: Former beautiful love interest. Mickey Wolfmann: Real estate tycoon, Shasta's sugar daddy, paying for apartment in Hancock Park. Mrs. Sloane Wolfmann: wife. Has her own side piece Mr. Riggs Warbling Deputy DA Penny Kimball: lawyer from district attorney office, who fooled around with Doc for a time. Works next to Rhus Frothingham (female book, male in movie).  Aunt Reet: Aunt in real estate. "Bigfoot" Christian Bjornsen: Hollywood detective and actor. Married to Chastity. Spoiler: His partner Vincent Indelicato is wacked by Adrian Prussia, but Puck did the actual job. Mrs. Chastity Bjornsen: Gets on the phone on page 260 of the paperback to defend Bigfoot's day off from work. Calls Doc Mr. Moral Turpitude, accuses him of running up Bigfoot's mental health bills.  Denis: friend who he goes and gets a pizza with...
Post a Comment
Read more

Democracy or democrazy?

Admittedly the choice between corrupt democrats and corrupt republicans isn't the political choice I want. I'd rather vote my way towards fairness, elimination of poverty, anti-trust laws that fight the consolidation of corporations (you read about grocery stores lately?), education, infrastructure. What you do get is a vote for democrats that vote to end rail strikes ( source ) because they can't carve out of the profits a sick leave, versus reality denying, Russian bought, obstructionists who might lower taxes, and want smaller government. The Ron Swanson's of the world who hate government and work in government. I've been running into people who believe the corrupt choices aren't worth even making. Reasons not to pay attention.I've thought that a few times in my life, but I don't think that now.  There are real choices about health care for women, and even just an attitude towards democracy. It's hard to fight past the rhetoric, and understand eve...
Post a Comment
Read more

Consent

You couldn't have a better title to a memoir in these times. You can read about Humbert Humbert, and other male narratives, but the female narrative of the statutory rape is fulfilled by this book. I feel slightly ill while reading this book. What she goes through is off, and it's hard to put a finger on it besides  Hebephilia . All the collaborating details from her mother, to her doctors, to her father. Vanessa Springora will be remembered for other things, she is a director and a publisher. I'm not sure if  Gabriel Matzneff will be remembered for other things. At least not on this side of the pond. I do have a kind of jealousy for the appreciation of the intellectual life in France.  Matzneff cites Lewis Carroll , and others as having the appreciation for youth. I read his Wikipedia page. That led to other questions about photographers who take pictures of their children. That led me down a creepy path. As much as Springora tries to not make it sexy, I wonder ho...
Post a Comment
Read more