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Old 02-12-2010, 11:46 PM   #16
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I'll admit, I only just made it through Half Asleep In Frog Pyjamas, and never finished Fierce Invalids In Hot Climates, though I did thoroughly enjoy the three books I earlier mentioned.

(Sincere question) In light of the OPs original post, do you have suggestions of other authors, hidari? There is self-interest here - I'm interested for my own TBR list too.

Cheers,
Marc
Well, Cheers for the question. I think Pynchon is a bit of his own style...A la Tom Waits in Music.... but... for Difficult or unusual lit master pieces...

I think Michael Bulgakov's Master and Margarita is excellent. I lived in Russia for many years and many a Fellow Russian told me that that was the best book ever written in Russian.

A few other Lit books I would recoment:

Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavic

Silence by Shusako Endo

Both of the above being historical....

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is a beauty as well and gets a bit pychonesque at times..

Nadine Gordimer is a great writer but I find her slow in bits...

A great book that won the Booker in the 70's is Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee ....short sweet and deep......

Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury classic lit...but start with the 4th part otherwise it will drive you crazy..

so read Part IV, Then I, II, and III

just a few...but not sure if that helps....
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Old 02-13-2010, 12:43 AM   #17
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...

just a few...but not sure if that helps....
Excellent. It sure does. I'll admit the a bit of guilt at the Coetzee reference - he's long been on my list to buy, and with him as a new-ish and fellow Aussie I should've made it there by now (not that nationality should drive my reading, but rather that my local awareness should have driven it into place quicker ).

Cheers, and thanks again,
Marc
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Old 02-13-2010, 08:04 AM   #18
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Excellent. It sure does. I'll admit the a bit of guilt at the Coetzee reference - he's long been on my list to buy, and with him as a new-ish and fellow Aussie I should've made it there by now (not that nationality should drive my reading, but rather that my local awareness should have driven it into place quicker ).

Cheers, and thanks again,

Marc

I reckon Coetzee is Brilliant. Read him first time in 1991..He has a bit of Steinbeck in him...Mostly short sweet and deep...
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Old 02-13-2010, 08:11 AM   #19
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Quite a variety of opinions at GoodReads:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...-inherent-vice

Also at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Inherent-Vice-.../dp/1594202249

It does appear this book is quite atypical for Pynchon.
I'm a long time reader of Pynchon and I'm still on the fence with Inherent Vice. But I didn't think it was that atypical. As a crime story the plot is almost impossible to follow and it's got Pynchon's usual theme--the co-option of the counterculture (potheads, dropouts, slackers=good, The Man=bad). Inherent Vice is probably best read as the third part of an unofficial "California trilogy" along with The Crying of Lot 49 and Vineland, which I think is sort of under-rated.
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Old 02-13-2010, 10:56 AM   #20
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Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is a beauty as well and gets a bit pychonesque at times..
You've just sold me on trying Pynchon. Ellison's Invisible Man is one of the best books I've ever read.
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Old 02-13-2010, 11:33 AM   #21
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You've just sold me on trying Pynchon. Ellison's Invisible Man is one of the best books I've ever read.
I'll be interesting in your reaction/conclusion. Please let us know.
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Old 02-13-2010, 12:11 PM   #22
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Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury classic lit...but start with the 4th part otherwise it will drive you crazy..

so read Part IV, Then I, II, and III
It's been about six years, but I do remember this one. I think I enjoyed it...can't really remember back that far, read too many books since then.

I wanted to thank everyone for their replies and discussion though. It's much appreciated.

I did decide to pick up Inherent Vice, and elitists be damned, I'm going to read it on the plane!
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Old 02-13-2010, 01:03 PM   #23
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I've only made it about half-way through The Sound and the Fury after a couple of decades.....maybe I'll try the backwards way...
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