[may 2025] a disappointing novel by an excellent writer — the first chapter was gorgeous, and i have re-read the opening page tens of times. it's beautiful. pynchon so obviously can & does write good prose. there are charming moments throughout (what i read of) the book — dr hilarius' faces, mucho at the used car lot, oedipa putting on all of her clothes — but equally as many that feel contrived, undercut by seemingly pointless narrative devices. all of this being said, i would definitely like to read more pynchon
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The only bit I really enjoyed (or remember) was the Jacobean revenge tragedy pastiche.
i didn't even get that far. i like shakespeare, so i may go hunting for this part; what did you like about it?
I remember the period language being spot-on and the over-the-top-ness of it all being very funny. This was 15 years ago or so so I can't recall more specifically. I should reread the book TBH.