The wild, macabre tale of the twentieth century and of two men -- one looking for something he has lost, the other with nothing much to lose -- and "V.," the unknown woman of the title.

Amazon.com Review
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., who knew Stencil's father during the war, but who suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 76 reviews)

Beautifully written, but who cares?

On almost every page I encountered passages of beautiful, witty, amazingly written prose. But, after about 200 pages, I just couldn't care less about any of the characters, or what happened to them. I am a well-educated person and have read most of the classic "western canon". I appreciate many "modern" authors like Marquez, Roth, Walker Percy, Bellow, Updike, Joseph Heller, etc. But I find that my life is too short to persevere with Mr. Pynchon when I neither like or dislike the characters and couldn't care less what happens to them. Based on my experience with this book I have shied away from Delillo since they are always compared similarly. All you guys who believe Pynchon is a great 20th century author can have him.
October 06, 2008

Thank God for the last chapter

I like this book. After I read the last chapter I loved the thing. It's not the most compelling read as you're going through, and half of the time I was asking myself "why keep reading?"...
Then I finished the book (more importantly the last chapter) and it was as if a switch had been flipped in my head, the whole book is wonderfully collaborative and makes complete sense. The only problem was getting to that particular point.
It is quite the opposite of what happens when I usually read a book, you don't want it to end, and when it does you're disappointed.
I sincerely wanted this book to end while I was reading it, and once I was finished I wanted to re-read it because it was so refreshing and it just makes sense. If it weren't for the end I'd have given it three stars, and if it weren't for the rest I'd have given it five, go figure.
May 16, 2008

III. not V.

I realize most reviewers have given 4 or 5 stars, but really - 492 pages to tell what could have been told with the same literary tricks in half that. This is another book that proves the point that just because something can be done - it doesn't have to be done.

I enjoyed the book a lot. The humor, history, characters, scenery, more characters all add up to a fun if challenging read. I just couldn't see the need for the droning endless descriptions that added nothing to the story.

I'll read those he wrote later with anxious anticipation.
February 11, 2008

An excellent first novel

I will start by saying that this book is not for everyone. At times challenging and nearly annoying, at times compelling and awe-inspiring, this book requires the reader's complete investment, rewarding him or her with some of the most unique and interesting fiction ever written. Chapter 3 ("in which Stencil, a quick-change artist, does eight impersonations"), chapter 5 ("she hangs on the western wall"), and the epilogue are some of the finest chapters of fiction I have ever read. Pynchon shows off his staggering and detailed knowledge of obscure history and diverse topics (such as the intricacies of a nose-job operation) throughout the novel - it is mind-blowing how much he fits into it. Certainly, being his first novel, V. does have its flaws, such as the dull or difficult sections, the ludicrous character names and lack of character development (with the exception of perhaps Profane and a few others), and the initially amusing but eventually annoying Three-Stooges-worthy slapstick moments. Pynchon, however, is clearly a very talented, unique, and influential author (you can clearly see his influence on other authors such as David Foster Wallace, with his discursiveness and hundreds of characters). I will definitely be reading more of his books.
October 27, 2007

Hmm.

Some of the reviews below suggest that if you don't appreciate this novel, it must be because you're some sort of overfed American philistine, and that you're so used to having your basest instincts titillated by popular culture that your sensors no longer can register the grand sublimity of this novel. One person goes so far as to state that if you don't appreciate V. then you should keep your opinion to yourself. (Which is oddly thought-policey, but whatever.) Most likely, fans of the novel imply, you didn't even get past the first seventy pages.

All of which implies that you either love V. or you're the symptom of some sort of populist plague. Well, I'm fairly literate--I have an English major that I took very seriously, and I also have a graduate degree. I read often and "seriously." And I read the whole thing (except the last twenty pages, which I skimmed because I didn't care about the story).

My educated opinion: This novel was a waste of time. The characters are poorly sketched and the narrative disjointed to the point of distraction. The novelist shows little ability to focus the reader and work with him. All our reference points have been broken or something. Whatever. And if you want an academic discourse, or a "genius" author whose famed reclusiveness is clearly reflected in an inability to envision his audience, then V. is probably deeply stimulating to you. But I want humanism and wisdom. Pynchon isn't selling that.

One person suggests that this novel will be most rewarding if you sit down with the novel, a pen and paper, and an encyclopedia. After reading, you are to quietly contemplate the novel for at least half an hour. And it is indeed quite possible that there are essential truths awaiting the reader who wishes to read V. in the Victorian Self Betterment Tradition. It strikes me that such people would be, at the least, better served by picking up Ulysses, which is of course funnier, wiser, and better-constructed. Or Paradise Lost, for example, an easier work that I studied several years ago, and which has yielded lifelong benefits.

Read the first twenty pages for yourself and then decide whether to buy it; it won't get any less plodding or obtuse. But don't buy the claim that if you think it's not working, it's because you're unwashed. Me, I'm off to read some Conrad and remind myself why I like novels. Perhaps some Richard Ford after that. I also tried Gravity's Rainbow, but I didn't get more than three hundred pages in, so I won't offer an opinion on that.
October 20, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

The Crying of Lot 49 (Perennial Fiction Library)
by Thomas Pynchon

Against the Day
by Thomas Pynchon

Gravity's Rainbow (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
by Thomas Pynchon
by Frank Miller

Gravity's Rainbow
by Thomas Pynchon

Vineland (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
by Thomas Pynchon