The 2nd perspective emerges - 120 pages in > Likes and Comments

I will try to keep my comments to as few spoilers as possible.

Just reached p. 120. It is refreshing how clueless I remain. The heft of the book is a securing presence, especially going into a weekend and almost a week of holiday.

Jonfaith wrote: "Just reached p. 120. It is refreshing how clueless I remain. The heft of the book is a securing presence, especially going into a weekend and almost a week of holiday."

It promises to continue branching. I imagine there will be a convergence toward the end. When we are getting too comfortable with the opening narrative, he seems to inject disorienting elements.

Some vibrant passages. A very different tone from the Maur segments. The segments begin to alternate more quickly, hinting at two separate journeys along approaching paths.

Really enjoying the Malay narrative, there’s a haunted distancing at work. Earlier today I spied a hardback copy D Johnson’s Tree of Smoke and I thought about rereading it. I passed.

Jonfaith wrote: "Really enjoying the Malay narrative, there’s a haunted distancing at work. Earlier today I spied a hardback copy D Johnson’s Tree of Smoke and I thought about rereading it. I passed."

Ah yes, Tree of Smoke. An atmosphere the sticks.
Good atmosphere in The Rouse. 230 pages in and I'm still wondering what "The Rouse" refers to.

I’m on p 197 and still engrossed even if life is uncooperative. The chaplain made me think of Updike. I saw a headline so I now know where this is headed.

I do like how both narratives are often ill lit, reflecting our own inability to connect the disparate to link these events in way that satisfies this pervasive dread.

There’s a tendency to want Allardyce to be Slothrop albeit in a more violent form.

Jonfaith wrote: "I do like how both narratives are often ill lit, reflecting our own inability to connect the disparate to link these events in way that satisfies this pervasive dread."

I am semi-expecting a Mievillian beast to attack in some scenes. I like both narratives, though Maur is growing more distance.

Jonfaith wrote: "There’s a tendency to want Allardyce to be Slothrop albeit in a more violent form."

I can see that.

Arrived at p 487 still unsure of where this might go as although the perspectives have converged there’s still 700 pages to go.

Jonfaith wrote: "Arrived at p 487 still unsure of where this might go as although the perspectives have converged there’s still 700 pages to go."

You are pulling ahead.
I am sputtering forward. There are certain scenes that strike me as unimportant. I'm thinking of the library scene, where Malay books are sought out. Could this not have been summarized? There are still moments of clarity within the fog.
Yet I perceive a gentle dilution happening. When he starts introducing characters which are destined never to return after a single scene, I question the utility of those characters.

The introduction of serial characters does appear somewhat errant but it is a Pynchon tradition. I have voiced aloud similar concerns. The next three hundred pages are somewhat crucial for me. We shall see.