The Project
What it is: This project is meant to serve as both a beginner guide and an in-depth analysis of the works of Thomas Pynchon, usable by both first-time readers and those who have made the journey before. As of now, Gravity’s Rainbow has officially been completed! Up next is the analysis of Mason & Dixon.
How it works: Every week I will post an analysis of a full chapter or, if the chapter is long, a part of a chapter. I will not be covering every aspect or every possible interpretation of the novel, as that would be 1) literally impossible given the depth of the novel and would lead to me breaking up each chapter into a month or more of writing, and 2) unhelpful to anyone trying to simply grasp the major ideas of the novel, thus leading readers to get bogged down in the minutiae. Also, I just like writing about what I personally find important. This involves interpretations regarding parapolitics, Marxist/Anarchist/Leftist/anti-Capitalist ideologies, various forms of governmental control, psychology, imperialism/colonialism, revolution, history (often the histories not taught in school), commodification, power structures, materialism, spiritualism, and other similar themes.
Subscribers: The base text posts are available for everyone! I want anyone to be able to read and enjoy these amazing works. So please subscribe to show your support! If you would like, I also offer a paid option which will get you access to the audio files of me reading each post, plus the ability to begin chats on the SubStack. And obviously, subscribing in general, free or paid, will ensure you don’t miss anything as all posts will go directly to your inbox!
What’s Next: Now that Gravity’s Rainbow is done, and Mason & Dixon is in progress, I plan on covering each of his other novels in a historically chronological manner as their own individual works and as they tie to each other. Therefore, after this one, we will be hitting Against the Day, Shadow Ticket, V., The Crying of Lot 49, Inherent Vice, Vineland, and Bleeding Edge. After that, if I’m still a functioning individual, I hope to also cover authors of a similar nature: Don DeLillo, Roberto Bolaño, Kathy Acker, William S. Burroughs, William T. Vollmann, Laszlo Krasznahorkai, etc.
