Arthur answers “For readers that have enjoyed V and...”

Shawn asked this question about V.:

For readers that have enjoyed V and Gravitys rainbow, would GR be easier if V is read first?

Arthur If you like beat generation writing, then you will probably enjoy V. , and could enjoy it right off. Because it's very much a product of the early 196…moreIf you like beat generation writing, then you will probably enjoy V. , and could enjoy it right off. Because it's very much a product of the early 1960's "anti-establishment" era, though in my opinion, it has way more depth (yet also is funnier) than any other beat or beat-influenced novel I've experienced. I'd actually save Gravity's Rainbow for next to last of all Pynchon's books, if not last, because it's a very dark book, while also hilarious at times, that I think a reader who has some prior exposure to his broken-crystal world-view would find easier to read, So I think if I were to start with Pynchon now, instead of in 1972, when I first read and greatly enjoyed V, I'd start with his lighter and more episodic Inherent Vice, or the easier to digest, but nonetheless brilliant and learned Against the Day. And then work back to V and finally the big GR, though maybe skipping Mason Dixon along the way because, and this is subjective, of the difficulty of reading due to the stylized 18th century syntax and language.(less)

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