Gravity's Rainbow - Books for an Unquiet Mind

mass market paperback, 887 pages

Published March 18, 1974 by Bantam Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-553-14761-2

(1 review)

Tyrone Slothrop, a GI in London in 1944, has a big problem. Whenever he gets an erection, a Blitz bomb hits. Slothrop gets excited, and then (as Thomas Pynchon puts it in his sinister, insinuatingly sibilant opening sentence), "a screaming comes across the sky," heralding an angel of death, a V-2 rocket. The novel's title, "Gravity's Rainbow", refers to the rocket's vapor arc, a cruel dark parody of what God sent Noah to symbolize his promise never to destroy humanity again. Soon Tyrone is on the run from legions of bizarre enemies through the phantasmagoric horrors of Germany. "Gravity's Rainbow", however, doesn't follow such a standard plot; one must have faith that each manic episode is connected with the great plot to blow up the world with the ultimate rocket. There is not one story, but a proliferation of characters (Pirate Prentice, Teddy Bloat, Tantivy Mucker-Maffick, Saure Bummer, and more) …

Tyrone Slothrop, a GI in London in 1944, has a big problem. Whenever he gets an erection, a Blitz bomb hits. Slothrop gets excited, and then (as Thomas Pynchon puts it in his sinister, insinuatingly sibilant opening sentence), "a screaming comes across the sky," heralding an angel of death, a V-2 rocket. The novel's title, "Gravity's Rainbow", refers to the rocket's vapor arc, a cruel dark parody of what God sent Noah to symbolize his promise never to destroy humanity again. Soon Tyrone is on the run from legions of bizarre enemies through the phantasmagoric horrors of Germany. "Gravity's Rainbow", however, doesn't follow such a standard plot; one must have faith that each manic episode is connected with the great plot to blow up the world with the ultimate rocket. There is not one story, but a proliferation of characters (Pirate Prentice, Teddy Bloat, Tantivy Mucker-Maffick, Saure Bummer, and more) and events that tantalize the reader with suggestions of vast patterns only just past our comprehension. "Gravity's Rainbow" is a blizzard of references to science, history, high culture, and the lowest of jokes.

1 edition

Jayp reviewed Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

I don't know what rating to give

4 stars

Gravity's Rainbow is like nothing I've ever read. While still less than one hundred pages in, it was clear that it is a brilliantly written book, had an interesting plot, and could be very funny. But what the hell is going on? Hard to say because just following along became close to impossible. I found some advice online that got me through the rest of the book, which was basically just to keep reading and ride along instead of trying to follow along.

And what a ride it was (Ja Ja!).

For maybe no reason at all, one quote at the end seemed worth making note of: 'Is there a fate that only I have been kept blind to?'

If you want to be challenged by a book, read Gravity's Rainbow. You might even enjoy it.