Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow: It's not rocket science

from Do You Even Lit? · host cam and benny feat. rich

We've been making eyes at the postmodernists for a while, but up until this point have lacked the stones to go take a ride on daddy Pynchon's rocket ship. Now that we have a little experience we thought we were ready for a mature and sophisticated lover like Gravity's Rainbow (1973): 800 pages long, and widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time. ...we were not ready. It's right back to clumsy virginal fumblings as we attempt to decipher the first 100 pages. A shameful and frankly demoralising experience for the boys. Does it get easier? Please dear god let it get easier. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) introductory fumblings (00:06:19) Rocket warfare (00:12:40) Pirate, ACHTUNG, and the Firm (00:17:14) Slothrop’s psychic schlong (00:22:58) Roger Mexico the statistician (00:30:12) Reverse causality (00:36:16) I didn't get that reference WRITE US: We love listener feedback. Send us a note at [email protected] to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question. NEXT ON THE READING LIST: ???

What this episode covers

We've been making eyes at the postmodernists for a while, but up until this point have lacked the stones to go take a ride on daddy Pynchon's rocket ship. Now that we have a little experience we thought we were ready for a mature and sophisticated lover like Gravity's Rainbow (1973): 800 pages long, and widely considered to be one of the greatest novels of all time. ...we were not ready. It's right back to clumsy virginal fumblings as we attempt to decipher the first 100 pages. A shameful and frankly demoralising experience for the boys. Does it get easier? Please dear god let it get easier. CHAPTERS: (00:00:00) introductory fumblings(00:06:19) Rocket warfare(00:12:40) Pirate, ACHTUNG, and the Firm(00:17:14) Slothrop’s psychic schlong(00:22:58) Roger Mexico the statistician(00:30:12) Reverse causality(00:36:16) I didn't get that reference WRITE US: We love listener feedback. Send us a note at [email protected] to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question. NEXT ON THE READING LIST: ???

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Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow: It's not rocket science

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This episode was published on December 15, 2025.

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