As a reader, I like a challenge. A lot of the stuff I
typically read would be, and unfortunately often is, considered trash by a
certain other type of reader. Snobbish readers, the worst kind of readers ever!
I love fantasy novels, comics, science fiction, crime fiction, and other genre
works. I have no real interest in what people call “literary” fiction. I don’t
recall who said it, but I once read that what is often categorized as “literary
fiction” is basically just drama. Now, there is nothing wrong with drama, but
why not have some fantastic elements with your drama? Still, every once in a
while I feel self-conscious about my reading choices and I can’t help but ask
myself “why am I ready this trashy shit?!” The obvious answer is that I love it
and I love it because it stimulates me in ways that the books I read as part of
my high school curriculum did not. I like novels with a lot of ideas,
regardless of how wild and impossible they may seem, and I love it when those
books take what at first can look like an outlandish idea and turn it into
something profound, into something that focuses on a facet of human existence.
Much to my dismay, sometimes the genre literature I prefer gives me big ideas
without taking the time to develop them properly. It’s at this point that I
start looking for books and authors with more ambition.
This leads us to Thomas Pynchon. I’m not sure why but I
only discovered him recently. After finding out that one of my favourite
directors, Paul Thomas Anderson, would be developing an adaptation of a novel
by Pynchon, I started to read about the elusive author. He is an extremely fascinating
person and his bibliography is one of the most interesting ones I’ve ever
encountered even though I’ve read none of his books prior to this one.
Something about Pynchon, something that remains just out of reach, absolutely
captivated me. It also scared me a little. Here is a man who has such an
imposing reputation that despite my rapidly growing desire to read one of his
books I shied away until just three months ago.
