Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow: It’s not rocket science

2025-12-16

We've been making eyes at the postmodernists for a while, but up until this point have lacked the stones to go take a ride on daddy Pynchon's rocket ship. Now that we have a little experience we thought we were ready for a mature and sophisticated lover like Gravity's Rainbow (1973): 800 pages long, and widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time. ...we were not ready. It's right back to clumsy virginal fumblings as we attempt to decipher the first 100 pages. A shameful and frankly demoralising experience for the boys. Does it...

We've been making eyes at the postmodernists for a while, but up until this point have lacked the stones to go take a ride on daddy Pynchon's rocket ship.

Now that we have a little experience we thought we were ready for a mature and sophisticated lover like Gravity's Rainbow (1973): 800 pages long, and widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time.

...we were not ready.

It's right back to clumsy virginal fumblings as we attempt to decipher the first 100 pages. A shameful and frankly demoralising experience for the boys.

Does it get easier?

Please dear god let it get easier.

CHAPTERS:

(00:00:00) introductory fumblings
(00:06:19) Rocket warfare
(00:12:40) Pirate, ACHTUNG, and the Firm
(00:17:14) Slothrop’s psychic schlong
(00:22:58) Roger Mexico the statistician
(00:30:12) Reverse causality
(00:36:16) I didn't get that reference

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