Thomas Pynchon’s 1973 epic postmodern novel “Gravity’s Rainbow” was sitting on my bookshelf mocking me magnum opus-ly. And, though it had been on the shelf unread — perhaps even unopened — for probably a decade, I decided now was time to read it.
I like to read at least one “big” book per year. I don’t always accomplish this, but I try to.
Other “yearly big books” I’ve read include Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables,” Roberto Bolano’s “2666,” David Foster Wallace’s “Infinite Jest,” Megan Boyle’s “Liveblog” and, for a span of a few years, all of Karl Ove Knausgaard’s “My Struggle.” I’ve attempted to read James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake” for about 10 years now. I’m on page 32.
Earlier this year I tried to tackle “War and Peace.” When I pulled it off my shelf, a bookmark on page 99 — from last time I’d tried it — fell out. I didn’t remember any of it, so I started over. Now the bookmark is at page 211, but Tolstoy’s tome is back on the shelf. Sorry, Leo! It’s not that I wasn’t enjoying it, I was, but I have a habit of wanting to read multiple things at once. So, right in the middle of Napoleon’s army firing on some Russian troops, I put down “War and Peace” to start “Path to Power,” the first book of Robert Caro’s multi-volume (still ongoing) biography of Lyndon Johnson. (That book is now on my shelf with a bookmark on page 116. I recommend it, though.)
So, anyway, I wanted to read a big book before the end of the year, and there was “Gravity’s Rainbow” daring me to take the trip.
With its 776 pages of multiple plotlines, shifting point of view, more than 400 characters and myriad puns, acronymized organizations and historical and cultural allusions, the reclusive, elusive Pynchon’s sprawling, zany World War II epic is, well — it’s a lot.
I’m not sure I can really sum up the plot (I’ve only read through the first part, about 200 pages, so far) but the book concerns an American officer named Tyrone Slothrop, whose trysts seem to mysteriously line up with the locations of German rocket explosions. There are also weird occult seances, experiments involving dogs, conspiracies, a trip through a toilet into the sewer, and I’ve heard at one point, a talking light bulb.
It seemed like I might need some help understanding the book, let alone lifting the dang thing. So, when I learned about “Slow Learners” — a new podcast, which launched in October, dedicated to reading and exploring “Gravity’s Rainbow,” I thought now was a good time to “taste the Rainbow.”
The weekly podcast is hosted by two lit-bro types, John Semley and Asher Dark. The hosts do an excellent job of matching Pynchon’s vibe by balancing between both brows high and low, while providing illuminating insights to Tommy P’s complicated text, mixed in with a couple yuk yuks and relevant interviews with guests. Each episode features a recap of a short chunk of the book (which can easily be read, even while reading other books, in one week). The first five episodes cover the first section “Beyond the Zero.”
The podcast, which I’ve been listening to on Spotify, is super helpful. It’s reminded me of why reading a big book with others is cool. The hosts — and their guests — have helped me navigate the chaos of “Gravity’s Rainbow.” There’s also a companion guide and summary online. It’s one of many such guides online — which I’ve found useful.
Guests have included a historian focusing on the science of rockets, an author who wrote a nonfiction book about secret military mind control operations, a journalist who writes about literary affairs and an author of two books about Pynchon’s work.
I’ve also kept an ongoing note on my phone about my own observations, links to the massive amount of Pynchonia on the internet and favorite passages in the book. Reading “Gravity’s Rainbow,” a paranoid and, at times, confusing, book that satirizes global warfare, in 2023 has been an interesting experience so far — especially as international conflicts and conspiracies have reared their ugly heads.
At times reading through the discombobulated and chaotic early sections of “Gravity’s Rainbow,” have made me want to pick up “War and Peace” again (and I’ve already taken a detour through the great short novel “Mrs. Caliban” by Rachel Ingalls, which I recommend). But, I think reading it along with the “Slow Learners” podcast will help me check off another “big book” from my list.
Mike Andrelczyk is a staff writer for LNP | LancasterOnline. “Unscripted” is a weekly entertainment column produced by a rotating team of writers.