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Hippie noir in 60s California.
The Penguin Press, 2009, 369 pages
( The names are the best part: Shasta Fay Hepworth, Vincent Indelicato, Christian 'Bigfoot' Bjornsen, Petunia Leeway, Sledge Poteet, Leonard Jermaine Loosemeat... )
Verdict: Thomas Pynchon is very good, but despite some nice passages and memorable characters, I found it hard to keep track of all the plot threads in Inherent Vice. It's a funky but confusing novel with a kaleidoscope of characters and a noir plot on LSD.
Also by Thomas Pynchon: My review of The Crying of Lot 49.
My complete list of book reviews.
The Penguin Press, 2009, 369 pages
Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon.
Private eye Doc Sportello comes, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era as free love slips away and paranoia creeps in with the L.A. fog.
It's been awhile since Doc has seen his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. Easy for her to say.
It's the tail end of the psychedelic sixties in L.A., and Doc knows that "love" is another of those words going around at the moment, like "trip" or "groovy", except that this one usually leads to trouble. Despite that, he soon finds himself drawn into a bizarre tangle of motives and passions whose cast of characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a swastika tattoo and a fondness for Ethel Merman, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists....
( The names are the best part: Shasta Fay Hepworth, Vincent Indelicato, Christian 'Bigfoot' Bjornsen, Petunia Leeway, Sledge Poteet, Leonard Jermaine Loosemeat... )
Verdict: Thomas Pynchon is very good, but despite some nice passages and memorable characters, I found it hard to keep track of all the plot threads in Inherent Vice. It's a funky but confusing novel with a kaleidoscope of characters and a noir plot on LSD.
Also by Thomas Pynchon: My review of The Crying of Lot 49.
My complete list of book reviews.
