Against the Day
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-10 09:54:13
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Thomas Pynchon
- ISBN：0099512335
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Spanning the period between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the years just after World War I， Against the Day moves from the labour troubles in Colorado to turn-of-the-century New York; from London to Venice， to Siberia， to Mexico during the revolution; silent-era Hollywood， and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all。
It is a time of unrestrained corporate greed， false religiosity， moronic fecklessness， and evil intent in high places。 Maybe it's not the world， but with a minor adjustment or two it's what the world might be。
It is a time of unrestrained corporate greed， false religiosity， moronic fecklessness， and evil intent in high places。 Maybe it's not the world， but with a minor adjustment or two it's what the world might be。
Reviews
Nick
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jesus christ
Joe
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Sprawling。 I enjoyed a lot of it， but there's just so so much book。 Sprawling。 I enjoyed a lot of it， but there's just so so much book。 。。。more
Andrew Sutherland
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While I did enjoy sections here and there of Pynchon's prose， overall I could find no literary or entertainment value whatsoever in this novel。 It's well written， but it's too much of a bloated， conflated mess for me to finish。 I made it to page 374 out of 1085 and couldn't take it any longer。 While I did enjoy sections here and there of Pynchon's prose， overall I could find no literary or entertainment value whatsoever in this novel。 It's well written， but it's too much of a bloated， conflated mess for me to finish。 I made it to page 374 out of 1085 and couldn't take it any longer。 。。。more
Caleb Goding
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I picked one of the worst times to pick up a book of this magnitude， I started an new， more demanding job and moved cross country。All this being said， I stuck with a 1，000+ page book that is truly a difficult read because， frankly， it was absolutely incredible。 Pynchons wordsmithing and deep knowledge of the Late Victorian Age makes this such an insanely good book for a Post-Modern Lit lover OR a history buff。 While this book was one of the hardest I've ever read， it was 100% worth all the effor I picked one of the worst times to pick up a book of this magnitude， I started an new， more demanding job and moved cross country。All this being said， I stuck with a 1，000+ page book that is truly a difficult read because， frankly， it was absolutely incredible。 Pynchons wordsmithing and deep knowledge of the Late Victorian Age makes this such an insanely good book for a Post-Modern Lit lover OR a history buff。 While this book was one of the hardest I've ever read， it was 100% worth all the effort 。。。more
Nathan
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How do you even review this？ Just read the book。。。。I dear you。
Connor
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Pynchon's longest novel， another metahistorical romance， and one of my favorites。 You will fall in love with its large cast of characters。 Perfect for the already fan of Pynchon。 Pynchon's longest novel， another metahistorical romance， and one of my favorites。 You will fall in love with its large cast of characters。 Perfect for the already fan of Pynchon。 。。。more
Book Snob Bow
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Amazing to think that one-third the way through this was gunning for five stars。
Christopher
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The same book in half the space would have four stars。 It's entertaining， and reasonably accessible， but reads very long。 I have to admit I lost track of some of the characters and their relevance / relationship to one another， so a closer read might have revealed the book's charm more fully， but I just found myself bored at points。 The same book in half the space would have four stars。 It's entertaining， and reasonably accessible， but reads very long。 I have to admit I lost track of some of the characters and their relevance / relationship to one another， so a closer read might have revealed the book's charm more fully， but I just found myself bored at points。 。。。more
Max
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Um， to even attempt a book like this deserves props。 Respect， Thommy P。 Respect。
Susan Fitzgerald
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Whew！ First of all， kudos to me for keeping most of the key threads going while Pynchon goes on a worldwide （and， if I understood it correctly， not-so-worldly） trip at the turn of the century， covering war， economics， mathematics， geopolitics， science， and cultural change。 It would take me multiple reads to delve into each of these themes， but I'm not sure that's exactly the point。 I get a sense that Pynchon wants to take an internval in time and play with all the possibilities of what could hav Whew！ First of all， kudos to me for keeping most of the key threads going while Pynchon goes on a worldwide （and， if I understood it correctly， not-so-worldly） trip at the turn of the century， covering war， economics， mathematics， geopolitics， science， and cultural change。 It would take me multiple reads to delve into each of these themes， but I'm not sure that's exactly the point。 I get a sense that Pynchon wants to take an internval in time and play with all the possibilities of what could have happened; what might have happened and we don't even know about it; and even a little of what， in the best of all worlds， we wish would have happened。 He does this with great wit， absurdity， and， most of all， compassion and heart。 Reminds me somehow of Dickens: the small nooks and crannies of everyday lives， that don't really play a big role in history and yet， somehow， make up the bulk of history all the same。Highly recommend。 。。。more
Lucas Chance
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Finally got this done！ This is oddly Pynchon’s most accessibly written novel yet the one that is hardest to finish because of its sheer enormity （over 1000 pages）。 But this is truly a culmination of all of his power as an author: beautiful prose that mixes the grotesque with the maudlin with the absolutely ridiculous， characters with pulp characteristics but in depth psychological analysis that are then used for punchlines， the showcasing of the destructive history of American colonialism along Finally got this done！ This is oddly Pynchon’s most accessibly written novel yet the one that is hardest to finish because of its sheer enormity （over 1000 pages）。 But this is truly a culmination of all of his power as an author: beautiful prose that mixes the grotesque with the maudlin with the absolutely ridiculous， characters with pulp characteristics but in depth psychological analysis that are then used for punchlines， the showcasing of the destructive history of American colonialism along with a serial killer who uses mayonnaise， talking dogs and a discussion of time travel alongside the last hope for change in the US。I still think Gravity’s Rainbow is the absolute best Pynchon novel， but this one is probably my favorite 。。。more
Ian
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Tremendously funny， very engaging， got a bit weak towards the end。 Well worth the read。
Brennan Miller
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Oh wow this book is so good！ It's so good！ What a good goddam book！ Wow！ Like one of my favorites ever！ Wow！ Phew！ Oh wow this book is so good！ It's so good！ What a good goddam book！ Wow！ Like one of my favorites ever！ Wow！ Phew！ 。。。more
Dylan Kiewel
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"Jesse brought home as an assignment from school "write an essay on What it Means to Be an American。" 。。。 It means do what they tell you and take what they give you and don't go on strike or their soldiers will shoot you down。"Overflowing with some of the finest sentences you'll ever read， stocked with imaginings that take you places the travels of its globe-trotting characters couldn't even fathom。 "Jesse brought home as an assignment from school "write an essay on What it Means to Be an American。" 。。。 It means do what they tell you and take what they give you and don't go on strike or their soldiers will shoot you down。"Overflowing with some of the finest sentences you'll ever read， stocked with imaginings that take you places the travels of its globe-trotting characters couldn't even fathom。 。。。more
Alfonso
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Ci ho provato。 Ma non fa per me。
Will Hayes
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this book is long
Kevin Mathew
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Want a doorstop？ Get this in hardback！Whimsical。
Steve
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Justin Evans's review is good; read that one。 Justin Evans's review is good; read that one。 。。。more
Lisa Wilder
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Typical of Pynchon this is an adventure with a huge scope， geographically， historically and thematically。 Fantasy， romanticism and realism combine in this turn of the century （1900） novel as the world war 1 approaches。 Centering on a mid-western American family it addresses the political and social forces of this pivotal time in history while weaving in Pynchon's complex and carefully constructed narratives and characters。 Worth the effort。 Typical of Pynchon this is an adventure with a huge scope， geographically， historically and thematically。 Fantasy， romanticism and realism combine in this turn of the century （1900） novel as the world war 1 approaches。 Centering on a mid-western American family it addresses the political and social forces of this pivotal time in history while weaving in Pynchon's complex and carefully constructed narratives and characters。 Worth the effort。 。。。more
Vlad Blaj
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They fly toward grace！
Joe Davis
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1085 pages of Pynchon is definitely the outer limit of Pynchon I can enjoy in one work。 Pynchon is a master of his craft， and Against the Day reflects that。 I can't really say anything that would come close to describing the experience of reading ATD， except maybe a strong acid trip。 I know a lot happened， there were insights into the human condition， beauty， joy etc etc， but damned if I can contextualize the experience。。。。。 1085 pages of Pynchon is definitely the outer limit of Pynchon I can enjoy in one work。 Pynchon is a master of his craft， and Against the Day reflects that。 I can't really say anything that would come close to describing the experience of reading ATD， except maybe a strong acid trip。 I know a lot happened， there were insights into the human condition， beauty， joy etc etc， but damned if I can contextualize the experience。。。。。 。。。more
PatC
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How do you review a novel like this？ There are so many plots， all of them connected， no one of them dominant。 Same with the characters， though you could argue that one set of them--the Traverse family--is central。 But even the Traverses （father Webb， mother Mayva， sons Frank， Reef， and Kit， daughter Lake） go their mostly separate ways。 They start in the US mountain west， but then disperse to points east and （farther） west， pursuing or pursued by their passions， sometimes just letting the winds o How do you review a novel like this？ There are so many plots， all of them connected， no one of them dominant。 Same with the characters， though you could argue that one set of them--the Traverse family--is central。 But even the Traverses （father Webb， mother Mayva， sons Frank， Reef， and Kit， daughter Lake） go their mostly separate ways。 They start in the US mountain west， but then disperse to points east and （farther） west， pursuing or pursued by their passions， sometimes just letting the winds of fate take them wherever， coupling with and then uncoupling from the many， many non-family member characters。Like most of Pynchon's fiction， 'Against the Day' is a historical novel， taking on the huge swath of （mostly American and European） events between the 1890s and， say， 1920。 World War I is somehow both at the center of everything and also weirdly off-stage， like a black hole。 The book is also， again， a 'novel of ideas，' in that the concerns and vocations of the characters （including mining， photography， mathematics， flight， philosophy， shamanism， exploration， anarchism， engineering， mysticism， etc。） and the inter-relations among those subjects become the main character and plot。 Finally （？）， the book is also a mash-up of other fictional and non-fictional art forms， one of the main ingredients here being romantic comedy。 。。。more
Josef
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The Chums of Chance and their air-ship， Inconvenience， consistently break down typical understandings of the shape of the world。 They pass through its centre， find that there are dimensions beyond their own， and find that the world is not a globe， but some kind of cylinder that they live on the inside of。 Eventually， the Inconvenience itself transforms into a kind of world， which is vast and home to many people。 Pynchon incorporates many pulp genres of fiction into the novel。 These range from ad The Chums of Chance and their air-ship， Inconvenience， consistently break down typical understandings of the shape of the world。 They pass through its centre， find that there are dimensions beyond their own， and find that the world is not a globe， but some kind of cylinder that they live on the inside of。 Eventually， the Inconvenience itself transforms into a kind of world， which is vast and home to many people。 Pynchon incorporates many pulp genres of fiction into the novel。 These range from adventure， detective， western， and war-air， along with the dime-novel genre of boy-inventor， à la the Frank Reade Jr。 series。 The novel itself is a map of the first half of the 20th century。 This map is compiled using the genres of the popular literature of the time。 One way that the novel acts as a mirror， a map， of the world， most obviously in its globe-spanning plot。 In their quest to avenge the death of their father， the Traverse brothers travel throughout the Americas， Central Asia， Siberia， and Europe。 Ethnography becomes a strong theme in the novel as the Traverses encounter the local cultures of the places that they travel through。 Away from the conflict of map and territory， one of the main threads of the novel’s plot is the conflict between anarchism and capitalism。 This conflict is represented in the revenge plot with Scarsdale Vibe and the Traverses， but the scene where Tancredi the artist is killed by Vibe in Venice might be the most poignant dramatization of the theme。 Vibe is an art acquirer， but he doesn’t appreciate Tancredi’s art。 Instead， his goons kill Mascaregna and then deface his body on Vibe’s order。 Against the Day is Pynchon’s infernal machine， which could， some distant day， bring down the order Vibe expresses most completely and hatefully。 It contains a light and heat， along with images of redeemed and transfigured， and offers some visions of the way that the world could get off of the track that it’s on， the one dominated by Vibe’s order。 。。。more
Voro
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La familia Traverse: el padre， la madre， tres hijos y una hija。 Especializados en explosivos， ingeniería， espionaje， protagonizan un comic para adultos de 1400 páginas en el que recorren la mayor parte de Europa， Asia y América del Norte en los años de la Primera Guerra mundial， las guerras zapatistas， etc。 Con guiños a la fantasía con perros que hablan， rayos que tienen vida y son adoptados o la mujer que levita al escuchar música。 Western， espionaje， bélica， aventuras， sexo， humor， 。。。。
Jwilday
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"Against the Day"？ Not an easy read to be sure。 An odd mixture of fact and fiction。 Pynchon's depth of knowledge of all manner of arcane subjects is truly amazing。 These days， the only way to read any Pynchon work is the Kindle version where a dictionary and encyclopedia references are just a click away。 This can even help with Pynchon's character names， of which there are countless。 "Foley Walker，" for example。 You can look that one up and see what I mean。 "Against the Day"？ Not an easy read to be sure。 An odd mixture of fact and fiction。 Pynchon's depth of knowledge of all manner of arcane subjects is truly amazing。 These days， the only way to read any Pynchon work is the Kindle version where a dictionary and encyclopedia references are just a click away。 This can even help with Pynchon's character names， of which there are countless。 "Foley Walker，" for example。 You can look that one up and see what I mean。 。。。more
Michael
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Loved this。 I honestly am having more trouble making sense of this on a macro level than Gravity's Rainbow （which I of course haven't really made sense of on that level either， and I think that might sort of be the point， or at least a point， of both books） which I didn't expect， since this book is an easier read in terms of page-by-page prose。 It's just all-encompassing。 It's like reading a full series of books all at the same time， with each story seemingly just as crammed full of meanings as Loved this。 I honestly am having more trouble making sense of this on a macro level than Gravity's Rainbow （which I of course haven't really made sense of on that level either， and I think that might sort of be the point， or at least a point， of both books） which I didn't expect， since this book is an easier read in terms of page-by-page prose。 It's just all-encompassing。 It's like reading a full series of books all at the same time， with each story seemingly just as crammed full of meanings as the others， as all the while the greater "plot" is woven in a complex web out of the many smaller storylines， which themselves are all intertwined in surprising ways， while all of it is at the same time constantly unweaving itself as it goes。 I dunno -- this is nonsensical。 I'm not sure why I try to actually say anything beyond whether I enjoyed a book in these reviews。 They're written for me， or should I say you， and not anyone else， after all。 Basically， the first 400 pages of this were absurdly good， among the most enjoyable writing I can recall reading， and then the rest， with peaks at that level occurring here and there， along with a few lows （mainly due to a lack of understanding）， was just very good。 Overall， this was great。 I enjoyed it immensely， and the prose， as always with Pynchon， was fantastic。 I'm sure I'll read this again multiple times in the future， and each time relish unravelling its tangled web a little bit more。 。。。more
DUG1138
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Amazing。
João Luiz
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Melhor livro de todos os tempos"Miles， sorridente e bem-humorado， prosseguiu。 'Ele queria que soubéssemos que nós também estamos aqui numa Peregrinação。 Que nosso interesse no itineraio sfinciunese e a cadeia de oásis nele traçada beneficia menos os que nos enviaram nessa missão do que a nós mesmos。 Quando todas as máscaras são removidas， trata-se na verdade de uma investigação sobre nosso próprio dever， nosso destino。 O qual consiste em não penetrar na Ásia em busca do lucro。 Não morrer nos des Melhor livro de todos os tempos"Miles， sorridente e bem-humorado， prosseguiu。 'Ele queria que soubéssemos que nós também estamos aqui numa Peregrinação。 Que nosso interesse no itineraio sfinciunese e a cadeia de oásis nele traçada beneficia menos os que nos enviaram nessa missão do que a nós mesmos。 Quando todas as máscaras são removidas， trata-se na verdade de uma investigação sobre nosso próprio dever， nosso destino。 O qual consiste em não penetrar na Ásia em busca do lucro。 Não morrer nos desertos do mundo sem ter atingido o nosso objetivo。 Não ascender nas hierarquias do poder。 Não descobrir fragmentos de nenhuma Vera Cruz， seja lá como ela for imaginada。 Tal como os Franciscanos inventaram os Passos da Cruz a fim de possibilitar que qualquer membro da congregação vá a Jerusalém sem sair do terreno de sua paróquia， assim também nós fomos guiados a subir e descer os caminhos de um mundo que nos parece praticamente infinito， mas que na realidade não passa de um circuito de humildes imagens a refletirem uma glória tão excelsa que não podemos sequer imaginá-la - para nos salvar do terror paralisante de ter de fazer a verdadeira viagem， de um episódio ao seguinte do último dia de Cristo na Terra， para chegar enfim à Vera e insuportável Jerusalém"。 。。。more
Hugh
，
An impossible book to review and an impossible book to summarise， but a very enjoyable read and one which encompasses a complex array of characters， styles， genres， historical， scientific， political and sexual references。 Pynchon's starting point is the history that led to the Great War， but although parts of the book are true to the history， his characters are larger than life and the fiction is invention on a grand scale。The setting mirrors our earth， but its laws of physics are rather differe An impossible book to review and an impossible book to summarise， but a very enjoyable read and one which encompasses a complex array of characters， styles， genres， historical， scientific， political and sexual references。 Pynchon's starting point is the history that led to the Great War， but although parts of the book are true to the history， his characters are larger than life and the fiction is invention on a grand scale。The setting mirrors our earth， but its laws of physics are rather different， if no more implausible than much 20th century science would seem to the scientists and inventors of the late 19th century。 The overall plot is as complex as the political world Pynchon explores， and he can follow a character for a chapter and then come back to him/her 200 pages later - none of them is a conventional lead but all play their part in the tapestry。I could say more， but that would probably get boring， and this book is rarely that。 。。。more
Adam
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What an enormous book。 I've met many people over the 2。5 months it took me to read this， and even as I finish I still can't answer the simple question; "what is the book about？"。 I did enjoy the book， although it good dull in parts， and some story lines were far more intriguing than others。 It was quite intriguing， many parts interesting， but it did not have a clear narrative。 The interweaving stories were of many different people's lives were fantastic， but towards the end， whilst I couldn't al What an enormous book。 I've met many people over the 2。5 months it took me to read this， and even as I finish I still can't answer the simple question; "what is the book about？"。 I did enjoy the book， although it good dull in parts， and some story lines were far more intriguing than others。 It was quite intriguing， many parts interesting， but it did not have a clear narrative。 The interweaving stories were of many different people's lives were fantastic， but towards the end， whilst I couldn't always pick who， you just knew one character would run into another。 In part， due to the large part set in Colorado， and the Anarchist theme， it somewhat felt like an anti Atlas Shrugged。 The setting was great， from the Chicago World Fair up until the end of the first world war。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Against the Day
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Against the Day&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Against the Day&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0