May 8, 2023
For the second time, I’ve finished “Against the Day” by Thomas Pynchon, (2006). This lengthy romp follows the lives of the two generations of the Traverse family, circa 1860 -> 1920 and their involvement in anarchist causes across the globe. There is a huge cast of characters touched by the family and a subplot following the “Chums of Chance”, balloonists and time travelers which punctuates the terrestrial tales with a nice bit of the fantastic. Not for the faint hearted, it contains great writing and some difficult topics; war, union busting, greed, mathematics, mechanics, chemistry and of course a good deal of sexual adventure as twisted as you may like or like to skip.
I found that holding a book of this size (1087 pages) impossible, so it was propped on a cushy pillow over my ample belly which allowed me to read until I tired. I really love Pynchon’s writing, there really isn’t anything like it, though some come close.