I read Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland when it was published in 1990 and when I finished it, I thought, “It took Pynchon 17 years to produce this disappointing work.”
In 1973, Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow generated a lot of controversy. The Pulitzer Advisory Board was offended by Gravity’s Rainbow’s content, some of which was described as “‘unreadable, turgid, overwritten, and in parts obscene.” No Pulitzer Prize for Literature was awarded that year. Then, in 1990, Vineland was published to very mixed reviews. I thought it sucked.
Peter Coviello loves Vineland and managed to talk Columbia University Press into paying him to write a defense of Thomas Pynchon’s novel. The Pandemic has lured me into a lot of crazy stuff–reading Charles Stross’s 1800 page novel, reading books that have been on my shelves for decades, etc.–so rereading Vineland after 30 years somehow seemed like a Good Idea. It wasn’t.
The same silliness I encountered the first time I read Vineland didn’t go away. “The Vibrating Palm”–an exotic ninja move that causes its victim to drop dead a year after its application–is just one of the nutty parts of this story. Evil Brock Vond and his DEA stooges engage in mysterious conspiracies. Young Prairie yearns to meet her mother, Vond’s lover and an informant.
I slogged through Vineland for a second time, not liking it despite all of Peter Coviello’s enthusiasm. He found the novel funny, I did not. Are you a Thomas Pynchon fan? How often do you reread books? GRADE: C (for both books)
Table of Contents
Prologue: Whatever’s Fair — 1
Part I
1. The Great Southcoast Plaza Eyeshadow Raid (’94) — 15
2. They Woke, the Thanatoids Awoke (’02) — 38
Part II
3. Scabland Garrison State (’08) –69
4. Secret Retributions (’19– …) — 104
Acknowledgments — 125
Notes — 127
Index — 139
Never read Vineland. Couldn’t get through Gravity’s Rainbow. I remember liking his earlier novel V. Probably 10% of my reading is rereading. I’ve read all of Ross MacDonald, Michael Connelly and Raymond Chandler more than once. I have read Huckleberry Finn multiple times. Ditto The Left Hand of Darkness by Le Guin, The Book of Laughs by Jonathan Carroll, Blood Meridian by Corman McCarthy and most of Theodore Stugeon and Ray Bradbury.
Steve, Bill Crider loved V. with its alligators in the subways! I’m doing a little rereading myself: a Jack Vance novel from 1976. You’ll see my review in the next FFB.
I read and liked V and THE CRYING OF LOT 49 but gave up on GRAVITY’S RAINBOW about 200 pages in. Tried it again several years later and bogged down right around the same place. Although I can’t remember which one it was I tried either VINELAND or INHERENT VICE and didn’t get far. If I ever try Pynchon again, which is unlikely, it’ll probably be MASON & DIXON, which seems to have become his most highly regarded work.
I don’t do much rereading, and what I do seems to be concentrated on a few favorite writers–Hemingway, Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor and Salinger, who seems to have been dismissed by critics but I still love the stories.
Michael, I need to reread some of Flannery O’Connor’s work.
You definitely should, George. I’m not sure how many critics dismiss Salinger, but he’s never been a favorite of mine.
Todd, in today’s NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, Philip Lopate shares your view of Salinger: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/books/review/phillip-lopate-by-the-book-interview.html
I’ve liked Lopate…mostly listened to him on NYC NPR, but have read a little of criticism before. Unsurprised that he cited Vivian Gornick first.
Todd, I’ve read and enjoyed all of Lopate’s books to date. I have his new book on order. It comes out tomorrow.
I reread here & there—mostly novels of manners (by writers like Jane Austen or Barbara Pym), romances, or childhood favorites (such as ANNE OF GREEN GABLES). I rarely reread mysteries, psychological suspense, or noir because I know the endings and the journey to the ending is the primary purpose of the book—although sometimes I’ll immediately reread books that have unexpected or twist endings just so I can see where the writer planted the clues. As for Pynchon, I’m sure I read GRAVITY’S RAINBOW and THE CRYING OF LOT 49 back in the day, but I remember very little about them. As I’m wont to say of Saul Bellow’s HENDERSON THE RAIN KING, “I’d rather reread SWEET SAVAGE LOVE than try to read that again”—and that’s my feeling about Pynchon too.
Deb, like you I can’t reread mysteries if I can remember the endings. Saul Bellow’s reputation seems to have declined over the years.
Let’s see… I read V back in the 70s and really should get back to it. I contributed to a Wiki on GRAVITY’S RAINBOW, and enjoyed LOT 49.Getting ready to start INHERENT VICE. I wish I could get away with writing stuff like that.
Dan, and all this time I thought YOU were “Thomas Pynchon”!
No, hell no. I find Pynchon unreadable. I have always meant to read V. ever since Bill talked about the alligators in the sewers, but never have. I can’t believe you put yourself through this twice.
I rarely reread. I did reread (as Steve did) HUCKLEBERRY FINN a few years ago, and in the past I’ve reread much of the Sherlock Holmes series, AND THEN THERE WERE NONE,GREAT EXPECTATIONS, etc. When we first started reading Harry Potter, we reread the first couple of books when the third one came out. The one big book I reread was THE STAND. I read the expanded edition when it came out (skipping most of Trashcan Man’s parts. I do reread short stories, usually if I read a new collection and there are stories I’ve read before. I’ve done this with Ed Hoch, Robert Silverberg and others. I think I reread Finney’s TIME AND AGAIN when the sequel (FROM TIME TO TIME) came out.
Jeff, I do very little re-reading because there’s so much new stuff to read! But I am rereading a Jack Vance novel for an upcoming FFB.
Fool you once, it’s the author. Fool you twice… Why on earth would you read this?
Rick, sometimes when I read a novel that others have praised and I “don’t get it” or don’t like it, I suspect that I’m at fault. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a certain book (or movie or play or album). I’m willing to give artistic works a second try. Sometimes my reactions change from my initial experience…sometimes not.
I was talking with the classical pianist Gloria Cheng once. She performs modern music almost exclusively, and is very fond of Messiaen. I told her I could never get into Messiaen, but I tried every few years. “Why do you listen to music you know you don’t like?” she asked. She was impressed that I would continue try to get into music that I felt I could like, but just didn’t appreciate yet. (It was quite a few years after that that I finally had my Messiaen awakening, seeing his Turangalila-Symphonie performed live.)
Jeff, that is an excellent example of what I sometimes experience with second tries with books, movies, and music. Sometimes I’ve changed over time and can appreciate something that initially didn’t appeal to me when I try it again.
I like what I’ve read of Pynchon, some short fiction (including some which was incorporated into V.) and THE CRYING. but haven’t yet, for no compelling reason, jumped into the longer novels (other than I need a Very good reason to read a longer novel–not a compelling one, necessarily!).
Todd, I know what you’re saying about long works. I face the same dilemma.