Do You Even Lit? Crashing out of Gravity's Rainbow: A postmortem of our first DNF
Jan 7, 2026
The hosts dive into their experiences with a challenging Pynchon novel they couldn't finish. They debate if they picked the wrong book, question their comprehension, and ponder literary masochism. Exploring postmodernism, they discuss the purpose behind difficulty in writing. Comparing Pynchon and Wallace, they analyze themes of sincerity versus irony in literature. Their reflections on humor in dense prose and the merits of maximalism lead to a broader conversation about reading challenges and expectations in great literature.
01:04:36
Epic Book Club DNF
- The hosts describe their multi-meeting, multi-hour failed attempt to finish Gravity's Rainbow as if ending a bad relationship.
- They emphasize this is their book club's first formal DNF after 50+ titles, underscoring the effort invested.
Surface Pleasure Enables Deeper Reading
- The group distinguishes surface readability from depth: if a book fails to reward a basic reading layer, deeper study feels like homework.
- They argue that lacking immediate narrative pleasure makes lengthy, cryptic books unrewarding for typical readers.
Difficulty Calls For Patience, Not Just Smarts
- Hosts wrestle with whether being 'too dumb' explains their struggle, but pivot to patience and masochism as bigger factors.
- They suggest difficult books often require sustained trust and rereading rather than raw intelligence alone.
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Intro
00:00 • 32sec
Why we quit Gravity's Rainbow
00:32 • 2min
Should we have chosen a different Pynchon?
02:19 • 3min
Was effort the missing ingredient?
05:05 • 2min
Are we too dumb for Pynchon?
06:39 • 3min
Masochism, patience, and literary thresholds
09:11 • 3min
The 'forced feeding' metaphor
11:42 • 5min
Is difficulty purposeful or gratuitous?
16:51 • 2min
What themes did we grasp?
18:23 • 1min
Postmodernism's deliberate disorientation
19:36 • 1min
Wallace, postmodernism, and sincerity
20:47 • 7min
Postmodernism as useful literary sandbox
28:13 • 47sec
Cultural dominance of irony
29:00 • 2min
Pynchon's humor — does it land?
30:42 • 4min
Cartoonish tone and film adaptations
34:26 • 4min
Needles in a haystack: maximalism strategy
38:10 • 2min
Should a great book require easy surface access?
39:41 • 29sec
What we do appreciate in Pynchon
40:10 • 3min
Would we ever reread it?
42:47 • 2min
Spoilers, guides, and post-read theory work
44:53 • 60sec
Confidence most readers struggle too
45:53 • 2min
Respect for Pynchon's uncompromising vision
47:41 • 49sec
Maximalism and naming realism
48:30 • 51sec
Why Wallace feels different from Pynchon
49:21 • 6min
Irony poisoning and changing art habits
55:45 • 1min
Ad break
56:57 • 1min
Listener mail: Woolf and modernism
58:22 • 4min
Outro
01:02:01 • 2min
#5697
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Mary McCarthy
Vladimir Nabokov
Pale Fire is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, published in 1962.
It consists of a long poem titled 'Pale Fire' by the fictional poet John Shade, along with a foreword, lengthy commentary, and index written by Shade's neighbor and academic colleague, Charles Kinbote.
The poem is a masterpiece in heroic couplets, while Kinbote's commentary reveals his own delusional narrative, believing himself to be the exiled king of Zembla.
The novel is a brilliant parody of literary scholarship, an experimental synthesis of Nabokov’s talents for both poetry and prose, and is often cited as an example of metafiction and hypertext fiction.
It includes profound meditations on death, the afterlife, and the anguish of Kinbote’s madness, as well as the tragic story of Shade’s daughter.
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Bibliophile Bibliophile Pro
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Raskolnikov puts this theory to the test by murdering an old pawnbroker and her half-sister, leading to a profound exploration of his psychological and emotional struggles with guilt, paranoia, and the consequences of his actions.
The novel delves into socio-economic disparities, moral dilemmas, and the psychology of criminals, making it a classic of Russian literature and existential thought.
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The novel delves into themes such as the fear of death, media saturation, and the effects of technology on social relations.
Key events include an airborne toxic event that threatens their town and Jack's discovery of his wife's involvement in an experimental study of a psychopharmaceutical called Dylar.
The novel critiques consumer culture and the ways in which people cope with mortality and uncertainty through consumption and technological distractions.
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The book explores themes of identity, history, and the search for meaning, blending elements of fiction and non-fiction in a unique and non-linear narrative style.
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Ulysses
James Joyce
Ulysses is a groundbreaking and complex modernist novel that chronicles the experiences of three Dubliners over a single day.
The novel is loosely based on Homer's epic poem 'The Odyssey', with Leopold Bloom paralleling Odysseus, Stephen Dedalus paralleling Telemachus, and Molly Bloom paralleling Penelope.
It explores themes such as antisemitism, human sexuality, British rule in Ireland, Catholicism, and Irish nationalism.
The novel is known for its innovative use of language and narrative techniques, including stream-of-consciousness and multiple literary styles.
It captures the essence of early 20th-century Dublin, providing a detailed snapshot of the city's social, political, and cultural landscape.
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The Broom of the System
David Foster Wallace
Duke Riley
In David Foster Wallace's debut novel, 'The Broom of the System', readers are introduced to a world where philosophy and fiction intertwine.
Set in a near-future Ohio, the story follows Lenore Beadsman, a young woman grappling with existential questions as her great-grandmother mysteriously disappears.
The narrative explores themes of identity, language, and reality, challenging conventional storytelling structures.
Wallace's signature style, characterized by intricate prose and intellectual depth, captivates readers with its exploration of complex ideas.
As Lenore searches for her missing relative, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery, confronting the limitations of language and the search for meaning in a postmodern world.
The novel blends humor, satire, and philosophical inquiry, solidifying Wallace's status as a literary innovator.
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Infinite jest
wit and humor in Italian Renaissance art
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Invisible Man
Ralph Ellison
In 'Invisible Man,' Ralph Ellison tells the story of a nameless black protagonist who navigates the surreal and often hostile world of 20th-century America.
The novel begins with the narrator living in an underground room, reflecting on his life and the various ways he has experienced social invisibility.
He recounts his journey from a small Southern town to Harlem, involving experiences with racism, a brutal 'battle royal,' and his involvement with the Brotherhood, a civil rights group.
The narrative delves into themes of identity, power, and the struggle for self-definition in a society that refuses to see him.
Through his experiences, the narrator grapples with the complexities of being a black man in America, ultimately leading to a profound exploration of invisibility and the search for one's true self.
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V.
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Pynchon's masterful use of language, symbolism, and imagery creates a rich and layered text that rewards close reading.
V. is a significant contribution to postmodern literature, influencing countless writers and artists.
Its exploration of identity, history, and the human condition is both insightful and unsettling.
#1999
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To the Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf
To the Lighthouse, published in 1927, is a groundbreaking work of modernist literature by Virginia Woolf.
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' It follows the Ramsay family during their summer visits to the Isle of Skye, delving into the inner thoughts and emotions of the characters through stream-of-consciousness techniques.
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Or, The Evening Redness in the West
Cormac McCarthy
Blood Meridian is a historical novel that depicts the brutal reality of the American West in the mid-19th century.
The story follows a 14-year-old runaway from Tennessee, known as 'the kid', who joins the Glanton gang, a historical group of scalp hunters.
The gang, led by John Joel Glanton and the enigmatic Judge Holden, is contracted to kill and scalp Native Americans but soon devolves into indiscriminate violence against various groups.
The novel explores themes of brutality, the loss of innocence, and the harsh realities of human nature, with Judge Holden serving as a central figure embodying philosophical and sadistic elements.
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#1732
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Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon
Published in 1973, 'Gravity's Rainbow' is a sprawling narrative that delves into the secret development and deployment of the V-2 rocket by the Nazis.
The story follows a diverse cast of characters, including Lieut.
Tyrone Slothrop, an American working for Allied Intelligence in London, who becomes embroiled in a mysterious connection between his erections and the targeting of incoming V-2 rockets.
The novel is characterized by its complex and diverse prose, incorporating elements of history, philosophy, psychology, and science fiction.
It explores themes of paranoia, the impact of technology, and the blurring of lines between reality and fiction.
The novel won the National Book Award for fiction in 1974 and is widely regarded as a literary masterpiece.
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Gabriel García Márquez
One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of seven generations of the Buendía family, founders of the fictional town of Macondo.
The novel spans a hundred years of turbulent Latin American history, from the postcolonial 1820s to the 1920s.
It is a tale of love, loss, and the cyclical nature of history, filled with magical realism that blends the supernatural with the ordinary.
The story follows the family's experiences, including civil war, marriages, births, and deaths, and explores themes such as solitude, fate, and the inevitability of repetition in history.
The novel is renowned for its narrative style and its influence on the literary movement known as the Latin American Boom.
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Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano is a complex and atmospheric novel that follows the descent into alcoholism and despair of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul in Mexico.
The novel's non-linear structure and its use of symbolism create a powerful and haunting reading experience.
Lowry's masterful use of language and imagery creates a vivid and unforgettable portrayal of a man's self-destruction.
Under the Volcano explores themes of addiction, alienation, and the search for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world.
Its enduring appeal lies in its powerful storytelling and its exploration of profound psychological themes.
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The crying of lot 49
Thomas Pynchon
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Laura Longmore
Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Dispossessed" is a science fiction novel that explores themes of anarchism, utopianism, and social justice.
The story follows Shevek, a physicist who travels between two planets with contrasting social systems: Urras, a capitalist society, and Anarres, an anarchist society.
Le Guin's novel is a thought-provoking exploration of different social and political systems and their impact on individual lives.
The novel's exploration of freedom, equality, and the challenges of creating a just society continues to resonate with readers today.
It's a classic of science fiction.
#49
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Moby Dick
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick is a novel that tells the story of Captain Ahab's maniacal quest for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that bit off his leg.
Narrated by Ishmael, the story follows the crew of the whaling ship Pequod as they embark on a journey that explores themes of obsession, man vs.
nature, and the existential questions of good and evil.
The novel is rich in detailed descriptions of whale hunting and life aboard a culturally diverse crew, and it has become a cornerstone of American and world literature.
#4292
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Inherent Vice
Thomas Pynchon
Yeah fuck this book. After much blood, sweat, tears, and other unspeakable bodily excretions, we've had enough.
This is our first ever DNF after 50+ titles, so we thought we should do a postmortem of what went wrong.
Did we not try hard enough? Is Pynchon basically an asshole? Do we have a problem with postmodernism as a tradition? Or the maximalist writing style? How is that we (mostly) love David Foster Wallace, who copied so much of his schtick from Pynchon, but not the master himself?
And several other theories for why this book ultimately defeated us:
(00:00:00) Theory 1: we chose the wrong Pynchon to start out with
(00:06:45) Theory 2: we are straight-up too dumb for this book
(00:11:35) Theory 3: GR is intended for literary masochists
(00:19:34) Theory 4: Postmodernist disorientation spiral
(00:30:30) Theory 5: Pynchon is painfully unfunny
(00:38:10) Theory 6: Maximalism is just too much, man
(00:49:20) comparison vs DFW, the New Sincerity, and irony poisoning
(00:56:50) Listener mail: In defence of Woolf and the modernists
(01:01:51) Next book announcement
WRITE US:
We love listener feedback. Send us a note at douevenlit@gmail.com to correct our hot takes, add your own, or ask a question. We would especially love to hear from any Pynchon heads out there (or haters).
NEXT ON THE READING LIST:
Moby Dick — Herman Melville