V.
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Average rating4
Having just been released from the Navy, Benny Profane is content to lead a slothful existence with his friends, where the only real ambition is to perfect the art of "schlemihlhood," or being a dupe, and where "responsibility" is a dirty word. Among his pals--called the Whole Sick Crew--is Slab, an artist who can't seem to paint anything other than cheese danishes. But Profane's life changes dramatically when he befriends Stencil, an active ambitious young man with an intriguing mission--to find out the identity of a woman named V [Victoria Wren], who knew Stencil's father during the war, but who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.
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there are some dry digressions and other plotlines that are oddly questionable - but otherwise? a peculiar work, yet one i found very endearing, if not entirely baffling. i think i love pynchon
‰ЫПShort of examining the entire history of each individual participating; ‰Ы_ short of anatomizing each soul, what hope has anyone of understanding a Situation?‰Ыќ
‰ЫПMy own unlucky boy, didn‰ЫЄt you ever think maybe ours is an act too? We‰ЫЄre older than you, we lived inside you once: the fifth rib, closest to the heart. We learned all about it then. After that it had to become our game to nourish a heart you all believe is hollow though we know different. Now you all live inside us, for nine months, and when ever you decide to come back after that.‰Ыќ
V. is an insanely good debut novel, but just kind of insanely good even without the knowledge it's a debut novel. Like with a lot of postmodernism, Infinite Jest being a key example of this, there are definitely some eye-glaze-over sort of moments where the author cares a lot more about certain plot points than you do. Like, honestly, I enjoyed the Stencil chapters, but the Whole Sick Crew chapters are better by a country mile. I know that like all Pynchon characters are supposed to be kind of unlikable and one dimensional but the Whole Sick Crew is like the most lovably messed-up casts of characters I've read in fiction. Also, I love the songs. An absolutely wild ride, but it's a modern classic for a reason.
