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The Crying of Lot 49 (1966)

by Thomas Pynchon

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
10,971194612 (3.71)1 / 434
When Oedipa Maas is named as the executor of her late lover's will, she discovers that his estate is mysteriously connected with an underground organization.
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 Someone explain it to me...: The Crying of Lot 492 unread / 2MarthaJeanne, March 2017

» See also 434 mentions

English (183)  Spanish (3)  Swedish (2)  Danish (1)  French (1)  Dutch (1)  Hebrew (1)  Italian (1)  All languages (193)
Showing 1-5 of 183 (next | show all)
This was a re-read for me; this book is consistently amazing. This time around I noticed a greater melancholy in the story, as though the conspiracy inside was both something desired (to make the world make sense) and something feared (because of a loss of control). ( )
  JasonMehmel | Feb 9, 2024 |
Pop goes the weasel! Pynchon's 1960s California-paranoia story of odd names, fractured plot and multiple conspiracy theories is soaked in clever allusion and hieroglyphic metaphor, but never really leads to anything. Indeed, frustration is obviously the point, as this clown-car drama full of interconnected but ultimately unresolved inquiries never arrives at a meaningful pattern but simply cuts to black.

Pynchon artfully distances us from character, plot and emotion - one assumes as an act of dislocating our own deluded efforts to make sense of this complex and chaotic world, and allowing us to feel instead the disorientation and anxiety inherent in a 'post-modern' society, where communication of all kinds is unreliable, uncertain or unfinished despite our efforts to systematise it.

Pynchon packs a lot of sophisticated and tantalising signposting into a short novella, and you can see why armies of smart fans enjoy parsing the under-determined semiotics of Pynchon. But in the end, all the highways in his Golden State lead to the same unrequited longing for answers. ( )
  breathslow | Jan 27, 2024 |
Despite its short length, this was a very complex and clever book. It really stretched my reading capacity. ( )
  secondhandrose | Oct 31, 2023 |
The original mystery novel for hipsters.
  fleshed | Jul 16, 2023 |
I recognized a lot of elements that I should have enjoyed, but I just didn't enjoy them. I do appreciate how the story unfolded and ended. There just wasn't a connection, I guess. ( )
  Kiramke | Jun 27, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 183 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (31 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Pynchon, Thomasprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Albahari, DavidTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Albahari, DavidAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Angell, OlavTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bocchiola, MassimoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Chalupský, RudolfTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Doury, MichelTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jeffs, NikolaiForewordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jonkers, RonaldTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kim, Sang-guTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lawrie, BobCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lundgren, CajTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Moya, Antonio-PrometeoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Penberthy, MarkCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Petersen, Arne HerløvTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Potokar, JureTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shimura, MasaoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Shorer, ʻIditTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Siemion, PiotrTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Teichmann, WulfTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Valkonen, TeroTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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First words
One summer afternoon Mrs Oedipa Maas came home from a Tupperware party whose hostess had put perhaps too much kirsch in the fondue to find that she, Oedipa, had been named executor, or she supposed executrix, of the estate of one Pierce Inverarity, a California real estate mogul who had once lost two million dollars in his spare time but still had assets numerous and tangled enough to make the job of sorting it all out more than honorary.
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The author of "The Crying of Lot 29" is Thomas Pynchon, not Kurt Vonnegut. If this is your copy, please correct the author.
https://www.librarything.com/work/4918...
Thank you.
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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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When Oedipa Maas is named as the executor of her late lover's will, she discovers that his estate is mysteriously connected with an underground organization.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary
To manage a will,
Oedipa follows the horn,
while Trystero waits.
(johnxlibris)

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