Crying of Lot 49
Oh my goodness they said the name of the book in the book and it was the last words spoken too. Unfortunately, this is the only closure we seem to get from this book. I started to worry as the page count got less and less and wondered "How is Pynchon gonna give us a conclusion on all those storylines he started earlier in the book?" The answer is: he isn't. This book is filled with red herrings that are meant to distract the reader from the true storyline, if there is one. An example of this is the character of Metzger who I thought was going to be vital to the story from the first couple chapters but then he just faded away. Pynchon may have been going for an "it's about the journey not where you end up" vibe with the book, which I totally understand, but just keeping up with the countless amount of characters and places with absurd and hard to remember names was a ton of brainpower for what in the end was largely irrelevant was exhausting.
I did enjoy the part in chapter 6 when Oedipa begins to piece some things together like a true detective in a mystery story. She realizes that every path that is related to the Tristero leads in some way to Pierce's estate: "Sure enough, the whole shopping center that housed Zapf's Used Books and Tremaine's surplus place had been owned by Pierce. Not only that, but the Tank Theatre, also."
This realization sends Oedipa into a deep depression and neurotic state where she secludes herself. It made me wonder if this entire thing had been set up by Pierce as some cruel prank, as she also suspected slightly. Perhaps he is even still alive... Regardless of whether he is alive or not, which we never find out, if this is a cruel joke aimed at Oedipa, I think we know who broke up with who.
I did enjoy the part in chapter 6 when Oedipa begins to piece some things together like a true detective in a mystery story. She realizes that every path that is related to the Tristero leads in some way to Pierce's estate: "Sure enough, the whole shopping center that housed Zapf's Used Books and Tremaine's surplus place had been owned by Pierce. Not only that, but the Tank Theatre, also."
This realization sends Oedipa into a deep depression and neurotic state where she secludes herself. It made me wonder if this entire thing had been set up by Pierce as some cruel prank, as she also suspected slightly. Perhaps he is even still alive... Regardless of whether he is alive or not, which we never find out, if this is a cruel joke aimed at Oedipa, I think we know who broke up with who.
I think that's what I found most frustrating about this book--I had to keep track of all the characters and all the minuscule details I thought would be relevant...for what??? Hahahah, I think Pierce left Oedipa too. She seems like she's out of her mind.
ReplyDeleteI like how you discuss the red herrings in the "Crying of Lot 49". I had never thought of the allusions and seemingly pointless facts as intentional distractions to the reader, but the pop culture references were definitely not relevant to furthering the plot of the Tristero System. Also, it it is interesting how you think Pierce had cruel intentions of sending Oedipa into an obsessive and crazed mental state. Is he seeking revenge for her flakiness in the relationship, evidenced by how she compares herself to Rapunzel but then ultimately does not allow Pierce to "climb up her hair"?
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