Thomas Pynchon

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ok, so, i want to look clever and need a quote from 'v'. my memory is that there's a thing about "the centre of things" -- ie a recurring line, an important thing, everyone wants to be there. but anyway i googled the phrase and got nothing. am i just paraphrasing?

― the Enrique who acts like some kind of good taste gestapo (Enrique), Monday, 8 May 2006 10:52 (twenty years ago)

dead center, 22, 44; center of "one of those queer lulls in the noise level of any room," 93; "center of her face," 109; center of town, 188, 207; "I wanted to stand in the dead center of the carousel," 205; "geographical center of the midtown employment agency belt." 213; "self-centered," 214; "a great wooden sun [...] in the very center," 239; "street's center-line," 244; "down the center-line of the skull," 268; "new ones bloom in the centres of old" 323; "Profane felt that [...] he'd come to dead center in Nueva York;" 368; of gravity, 390; "nine light years from rim to center," 394; of the seat, 394; "Itague stood in the center," 396; "a large pouf in the center of the room," 406; "center of the mob," 440; "center of the ceiling," 453; "circle centered at Xaghriet Mewwija," 462; "In the center was a cistern, its rim adorned with a dark sunburst of sewage." 469

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:03 (twenty years ago)

From A V concordance

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:04 (twenty years ago)

i haven't read v, but i HEART lot 49.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:04 (twenty years ago)

I searched "center", rather than "centre", remembering that thomas pynchon is an american person

― RJG (RJG), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:06 (twenty years ago)

ihttp://mots.extraits.free.fr/thomas_pynchon1.jpg

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:06 (twenty years ago)

The band Thrice has released their fifth album, entitled "Vheissu," which is the result of the band's singer, Dustin Kensrue, being blown away by Pynchon's first novel V. He had the entire band read the novel from cover to cover before recording the album.

Oh dear God

― Alba (Alba), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:11 (twenty years ago)

I assume he taught them all to read first.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:37 (twenty years ago)

Well, that metal album about "Moby-Dick" was pretty good.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 8 May 2006 11:46 (twenty years ago)

i appear to have made up the quote and it was years ago that i read it -- but would it be fair to say that one of the main themes of 'v' is the attraction of/impossibility of reaching "the center"?

― the Enrique who acts like some kind of good taste gestapo (Enrique), Monday, 8 May 2006 12:15 (twenty years ago)

a lot of GR is about "holy centre approaching" - is that what you are thinking of?

― Britain's Obtusest Shepherd (Alan), Monday, 8 May 2006 12:16 (twenty years ago)

no, cos i haven't read it -- maybe i read a review of it or something. baaaaah, this is silly.

― the Enrique who acts like some kind of good taste gestapo (Enrique), Monday, 8 May 2006 12:20 (twenty years ago)

i love it when Ned pwns

― Tracey Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 8 May 2006 15:56 (twenty years ago)

Happy 69th Birthday, TP, wherever you are.

― scrimhaw1837 (son_of_scrimshaw), Monday, 8 May 2006 17:30 (twenty years ago)

ha! strange that the thread was revived on his birthday.

― jed_ (jed), Monday, 8 May 2006 17:33 (twenty years ago)

No explanation. No point in looking for one either. It's all part of a internal cosmic unconsciousness.

― scrimhaw1837 (son_of_scrimshaw), Monday, 8 May 2006 17:35 (twenty years ago)

T'was a shame that pic I linked didn't show. Just it's so strange he's walking around with a name tag on going "Look! Look! I'm Thomas Pynchon you guys!!!"

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 07:40 (twenty years ago)

thrice is pretty good!

― city of gyros (chaki), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 07:51 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

I am sitting here at my computer with a copy of The Crying of Lot 49 next to me, about to reread it for a fourth time. I type "ILX" in the address bar and press Down, but just as I'm pressing Enter, my hand bumps my mouse and moves the cursor so that it highlights one of the other autocomplete suggestions... which just so happens to be this thread.

It weirds me out a little.

― I'm the head soul brother in the US. Where to now? (bernard snowy), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:36 (seventeen years ago)

esp since this thread hasn't been active in two years!

― Zero Transfats Waller (Oilyrags), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 18:58 (seventeen years ago)

what is Down?

― the pinefox, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:04 (seventeen years ago)

the inner layer of insulating feathers on waterfowl. Also, one of the four direction buttons just to the right of your enter key.

― Zero Transfats Waller (Oilyrags), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:06 (seventeen years ago)

No-one's mentione 'Against the Day' yet.

am currently stuck in it's grasp.

― Jarlrmai, Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:41 (seventeen years ago)

what is Down?

― the pinefox, Tuesday, March 31, 2009 2:04 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark

stfu

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 19:41 (seventeen years ago)

> No-one's mentione 'Against the Day' yet.

Do you realize that this is the first time I will be able to anticpate NEW PYNCHON

― Zero Transfats Waller (Oilyrags), Tuesday, 31 March 2009 20:34 (seventeen years ago)

five months pass...

Nearly finished my first read of this, and I find it weirdly moving on a personal level - even having been born in 1977 - I'm reminded somehow of lots of people I knew earlier in life. (The DL/Frensi parts and Che/Prairie parts have a particular resonance with two friends whose lives have drifted/diverged from my own, and the friendships seem to mirror one another in a way.) Surprised at how, well, easily digestible this has been in comparison to Lot 49.

what do others think?

― I'M IN MIAMI, TRICK-OR-TREAT (Beatrix Kiddo), Wednesday, 9 September 2009 20:40 (sixteen years ago)

oops. didn't mean to post that, started a vineland thread.

― I'M IN MIAMI, TRICK-OR-TREAT (Beatrix Kiddo), Wednesday, 9 September 2009 20:41 (sixteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

lake traverse and deuce kincaid, wow

― kamerad, Sunday, 4 October 2009 21:25 (sixteen years ago)

i meant kindred. and sloat fresno. and against the day going all annie proulx meets cormac mccarthy. fuck

― kamerad, Sunday, 4 October 2009 22:25 (sixteen years ago)

must admit i'm not enjoying "inherent vice" all that much. in fact, haven't picked it up for about two weeks.

― moonship journey to baja, Monday, 5 October 2009 00:23 (sixteen years ago)

Dude. I think it only took me a couple of days all told, I loved it.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 5 October 2009 00:26 (sixteen years ago)

maybe i'll give it another shot tonight.

― moonship journey to baja, Monday, 5 October 2009 00:28 (sixteen years ago)

a black rush of hair streaming unruly as the smoke that marbles the flames of Perdition

― kamerad, Monday, 5 October 2009 05:42 (sixteen years ago)

liked INHERENT VICE, took finishing as an opportunity to pick up VINELAND finally, and i love it so far!

― 69, Monday, 5 October 2009 19:57 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

missed this bit of news late last year

http://www.filmjunk.com/2010/12/02/p-t-anderson-to-direct-inherent-vice-starring-robert-downey-jr/

― andrew m., Thursday, 6 January 2011 20:25 (fifteen years ago)

one month passes...

maybe i'm nuts but what's up in wisco reminds me of against the day
http://www.slate.com/id/2286169/pagenum/all/#p2
or at least the simpsons, the koch bros scarsdale vibe's grandsons if not mr. burnses

― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 24 February 2011 15:49 (fifteen years ago)

I just bought Against the Day the other night, looking forward to digging in.

― rendezvous then i'm through with HOOS (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, 24 February 2011 16:06 (fifteen years ago)

took me a while to get into. the deuce sloat lake fiasco hooked me

― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 24 February 2011 16:07 (fifteen years ago)

ATD is one of the greatest books i've ever read... and i've still got 300 pages to go

― cutty, Thursday, 24 February 2011 22:09 (fifteen years ago)

it picks up around then, believe it or not. cyprian turns out to be one of my favorite pynchon characters

― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 24 February 2011 23:13 (fifteen years ago)

i wish PT anderson was doing a six hour film of ATD instead

― cutty, Friday, 25 February 2011 18:40 (fifteen years ago)

it's so fucking cinematic

― cutty, Friday, 25 February 2011 18:41 (fifteen years ago)

ATD is one of the greatest books i've ever read...

i might go as far as saying it's my favorite tp by a long shot.

Robert Downey Jr. as lead in Inherent Vice is kind of perfect.

― they call him (remy bean), Friday, 25 February 2011 18:45 (fifteen years ago)

robert downey jr gains 40 pounds and plays slothrop, please

― cutty, Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:29 AM (2 years ago)

― cutty, Friday, 25 February 2011 21:15 (fifteen years ago)

two months pass...

Pynchon loves him some pigs:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/.a/6a00d8341c630a53ef01538e4fe38c970b-600wi

"I was planning to skydive into the middle of these proceedings," joked Pynchon, who didn't even attend the National Book Awards when "Gravity's Rainbow" won in 1974. "Thank you for your teaching," he continued. "Good work and good vibes to everybody there."

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 5 May 2011 22:27 (fifteen years ago)

Almost finished with V right now, and I'm enjoying it very much.

Did anyone else get this? I'm on the last 100 pages, and it seems like Pynchon is giving us the code to crack open the novel with. As in, now the past 400 pages are starting to make sense - Benny is like a fetish, an inanimate object, explains what SHROUD was saying, slaves, dance of death, all that good stuff. If that's the case, I wonder if it's reflected in Mondaugen's story where the German officer breaks Mondaugen's code and it reveals, from what I understand, a quote from Wittgenstein. I'm definitely interested in checking out what it means to see if/how it reflects on the novel's theme (if anyone else has done this, I'd love to hear about it).

Regardless, he's a great writer. Can't wait to read his other novels.

― Spectrum, Wednesday, 11 May 2011 00:41 (fifteen years ago)

I am around 550 pages into Against The Day and it's my favorite one of his yet, just astonishing. V is the one I can't seem to get into so I'd say you have lots of great reading ahead of you.

― sleeve, Wednesday, 11 May 2011 01:17 (fifteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

just opened up lot 49 and its just really annoying

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 6 June 2011 22:21 (fifteen years ago)

thrice is pretty good!
― city of gyros (http://i54.tinypic.com/11l4yvn.gif), Tuesday, May 9, 2006 12:51 AM (5 years ago) Bookmark

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 6 June 2011 22:22 (fifteen years ago)

an essay on Watts from the 60s

http://www.themodernword.com/pynchon/pynchon_essays_watts.html

― puff puff post (uh oh I'm having a fantasy), Monday, 6 June 2011 22:28 (fifteen years ago)

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