New Thomas Pynchon novel

[Hitler Cubano 0]

It’s been awhile since Doc Sportello has seen his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly out of nowhere she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. Easy for her to say. It’s the tail end of the psychedelic sixties in L.A., and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” except that this one usually leads to trouble. Despite which he soon finds himself drawn into a bizarre tangle of motives and passions whose cast of characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a swastika tattoo and a fondness for Ethel Merman, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists.

 

Sounds pretty interesting. I'm still getting around to reading his other novels, but I'm going through so many books right now it'll take me a bit to get to the epic lengths of V. and Gravity's Rainbow as well. This one, like Against the Day (which was my introduction to him) might be another one I'd get to before those guys too.

[PUT THAT DICK IN MY MOUTH! 0]

This sounds like it's going to be more in the Lot 49/Vineland mold than the V./Gravity's Rainbow mold. I'll still read it, but I'm not expecting a masterpiece.

 

edit: It is nice to see that the guy's is still alive and working. It's going to be a sad day for American letters when he finally kicks the bucket.

[Giuseppe Zangara 0]

Maybe this one, given it's comparatively short length, will actually get some fair reviews. Much of the negative press that greeted Against the Day read as if it stemmed from whatever the reviewers could gleam from the book jacket, press materials, and the first 50 pages of the novel itself. I'm looking at you, Michiko Kakutani.