I recently finished Infinite Jest, which, given when it was written, has some amazing predictions of modern society. The political environment in the book is also pretty creepily accurate to everything going on today. I took a little break and have now moved onto Gravity's Rainbow, and despite the fact that I JUST started it…I have done lot of research before starting, and can already see the tones, and underlying messages it will address. But it too, feels extremely in-time with everything occurring today (or the fears many of us have on what the future could bring). Reading these 2 back to back feels like an especially wild ride given today's politics. Just thought I'd share.
by BaconBreath
2 Comments
GR does a great job of expressing the fear and confusion of 1945, 1973, and 2025 simultaneously. If one primary thematic aim dominates Pynchon’s first three books (the only ones of his I’ve read), it’s the sheer paranoia and madness of the modern era, all ever-increasing levels of control and unknowable, unaccountable domination. I can only hope that he gets slightly more optimistic in his later work.
Both of those books somehow feel way too relevant no matter when you read them. Infinite Jest basically predicted the internet age, and Gravity’s Rainbow’s paranoia and power dynamics still hit hard. Back-to-back in today’s world? That’s definitely a wild ride.