Thomas Pynchon

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Any other Thomas Pynchon fans out there? I've been reading "Against The Day" for nearly a year now - more of a life's work than a light read

Suddenly had a speculation that maybe Pynchon has some AS spectrum thing? He's such a recluse it's impossible to know the person. Not wanting to be interviewed and having his creation challenged is a clue. I'm really basing it on the fact that social relationships don't figure much in his work, but to me he does write brilliantly about complex human systems

I haven't read any of his books, but I should, and I will someday.

Interested as to why you feel "you should"?

"The Crying of Lot 49" is often touted as the ideal introduction, probably because it's his only book thats less than 500 pages. If you don't like this one, you'll certainly hate the rest!

I find his books can't be read in the same way as other authors. Perhaps they require some effort on the part of the reader. I can see a link with the films of David Lynch. Each viewing (or reading) reveals another angle. Multilayered and, even more difficult, containing layers that the author himself is not consciously aware of.

I've read about him, and it looks like it would be worthwhile. I haven't read much fiction lately, but I'm not giving up on it. I'll probably try The Crying of Lot 49 sometime. Right now I'm actually about to read a book that I'm waiting to get from Amazon.com, but it's not fiction, it's Difference and Repetition by Gilles Deleuze, some heavy post-structuralist philosophy. I'm sure that you're right that his books require some effort from the reader. I think any book does. You can't just read the words without understanding them, because reading is a process.