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I hoped some of the parents here might have read and understood this book. I don't understand Pynchon... This is one of my summer reading books. I read it twice and it still doesn't make much sense. I can't decide how much of what he says is supposed to have meaning and how much has no meaning and is just satire... I don't do well with (post)modernism. If anyone would be willing to talk to me about this book and/or guide me in the right direction that would be greatly appreciated. (In particular, I'm supposed to analyze Oedipa's fear of there being no order in the world and her fear of there being a hidden order to everything. Then I'm supposed to tie that into what Pynchon is saying about California, if I think what he is saying is right, and if I think the issues he brings up are still issues in California today.) Thanks!

By Momrath (Momrath) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 11:40 pm: Edit

Pynchon is hard for anyone, but especially for young people who may not understand the extensive literary references, puns, wordplays and allusions. To get yourself started, take a look at Spark Notes on-line. But be VERY CAREFUL not to plagarize any Spark Notes wordings directly.
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/lot49/

By Backhandgrip (Backhandgrip) on Tuesday, August 24, 2004 - 11:42 pm: Edit

I'll ask my son. He has read everything.

By Idler (Idler) on Wednesday, August 25, 2004 - 09:40 am: Edit

Just find a passage which illustrates the hidden order: I haven't read it for years, but I recall one where she's looking down into a valley and sees the suburban streets and houses far below, and they look like a printed circuit board to her: what is it, the chaos of unplanned sprawl, or bits of a machine? Pick a passage where she muses on Tristero: is it a paranoid fantasy or a conspiracy? Then try to relate it to some relevant sense of your own life: chaotic, entropic, or part of a hidden plan you can't see.