The Sayer and the Namer

I just finished reading The Crying of Lot 49, and it was....interesting? confusing? frustrating? odd? All of the above. I've never read a book like it. If I could compare it to a movie, maybe it would be a mixture between Vanilla Sky, The Matrix, Memento, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I know that's a random selection of movies, but all of them have a kind of depth while still embodying a sense of confusion. They aren't "obvious" movies; you really had to pay attention to detail, symbolism, and small nuiances.

I really like this type of story, because it keeps me on my toes. It's always changing, shifting, and with each sidenote, I'm wondering what the meaning is. Thomas Pynchon is also funny - like laugh out loud funny. It's pretty rare for a book to make me laugh out loud, but certain random funny parts of this book did. I can't begin to describe it, but there is a scene where a father, son, and their dog die in a submarine. I know this sounds morbid and awful, and I'm the biggest dog lover on earth, but the dog's death scene just cracked me up. Again, out of context it doesn't make any sense - even in context it doesn't make much sense - but I would recommend this book purely based on the unique reading experience it provides.

Happy Reading, and Happy Monday! I'll post some Ohio pics soon.