A few weeks ago, I started the book The Crying of Lot 49. I read over half in one day, which isnt saying much as the book is only 140 pages. But I was completely lost, I had to take a break from reading before I vomited up all of the words I had just read. So here I am back again, restarting at where I left off. For this post, I will discuss what has happened in the book thus far, then the following posts will go through me reading then finishing the book. The beginning of the book details the main character (Oedipa) and her quest to execute her ex-boyfriend's will. She sees many people to make this happen including her ex-boyfriends lawyer who she then has an affair with. From then on many strange events happen to her, including getting chased by boat, trying out a new invention, and the most important discovering what might be an underground mail system. I think my main confusion with this book is that it is written so differently from anything I have ever read. It is also hard to describe but I will do my best. It seems like every sentence has a meaning to it greater than what is being said. Let me give an example:

"Though she knew even less about radios than about Southern Californians, there were to both outward patterns a hieroglyphic sense of concealed meaning, of an intent to communicate."

Now don't try to tell me you didnt have to read that twice. This sentence doesn't merely just push the plot along, theres more depth to it. So basically what Pynchon is saying is that people from Southern California and radios are alike in that they both had concealed meanings when they tried to communicate. The problem is, I'm not sure what the "hieroglyphic sense" is. And also, I'm not sure what their concealed meanings are. This is only one example, of many more in the book. To really understand what's going on, it's almost like you have to analyze each sentence. That must just be Pynchon's style of writing though. It is almost as if he is saying what he is thinking as it comes to his head, but what he is thinking is really complicated and puzzle like. When this book was published in the seventies Time magazine wrote: " What is the meaning of the gibberish literature that is currently being published as fast as it can be gibbered?"....exactly what I think as I read.I will post again soon, hopefully with updates of my understanding.