Thursday, July 8, 2010

The Crying of Wizards

So. I wasn't quite sure what to do with this blog when I finished my HP quest. I'm not awesome at actually completing tasks so I was shocked I successfully reported all my Harry Potter related feelings. But I did! So I supposed I will continue this in the same fashion I began.

I just finished this book called The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. This is not the type of novel I often read. It was recommended to me by a friend so I sort of ran with it. First of all it's satire. Through that alone I knew I was in for some sort of ride. Satire is often hard to read because you have to get all the subtle hints to understand the work in its entirety and find it amusing. But regardless I actually really liked this book. It goes through culture and chaos touching on the destructive properties of drugs and conspiracy.

The characters are bizarre, bordering on the absurd. There's a scene in the very beginning when Oedipa, the main character, puts every piece of clothing she has in her suitcase on when playing a stripping game only to end up having it all tugged off and engages in the act she was avoiding anyway. Oedipa has an obsession with a possible secret society involving couriers. There are grown men with pedophilic interest in young women. There's a demon involved in explaining how molecules work. It's all pretty intense stuff discovered through either a haze of alcohol induced stupor or glaring clarity of prose. Throughout, it's engaging and interesting.

The book is so appealing to me because it subtly mimics life. There are decisions we make that we wish we could take back in moments of weakness or through poor judgment. We discover things about ourselves and others we wish we never knew. People give their hearts too freely and drink too fast. Some don't listen to the facts, while others listen too closely. Either way, in some form or another there are events occurring we don't always understand. We all have obsessions. There are some secrets. And we've all made mistakes.

The hardest part is understanding that sometimes, there just isn't any going back. Once you reach the brink of insanity you've got to either totter there forever or take the plunge. Frankly, life is insanity most of the time, so you might as well just go with it.

Until next time,

J-Stillz

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