It is always good to get the
bad book out of the year sooner rather than later, cause I’m glad to say that
great books come along far more frequently than bad ones do. And this year’s
rotten egg is the newest tome by American headache causer Thomas Pynchon. I
have never been a fan of his books. The ways in which he piles so much useless,
esoteric facts into a ball of twine that is impossible to untangle never really
sat well with me. It was Pynchon being somewhat of an intellectual bully, and
there are much better post-modern authors to read that are easier and way more
fulfilling. But nothing prepared me for how hilariously bad Bleeding Edge was.
What do you think an aging intellectual like Pynchon would sound like writing
about Notorious B. I. G., modern reality television, and video games? It sounds
as bad as it really is, but it is quite fun to read. The loose plot that is
characteristic of Pynchon follows Maxine, a house wife/internet terrorist who
is living in 2001 New York right after the dotcom crash but right before the
9/11 attacks. I knew I was in for an exercise in awful when, within the first
fifty pages, Maxine is giving an almost Ayn Rand-ian graduation speech to a group of 8th
graders. From there, it get more ridiculous, and you can’t help but laugh
harder as things get crazier and more nonsensical. From a law office named
after Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger (which I always have problems with
since I am fans of those film franchises and people always treat them as a joke)
to ill advised dissection of films such as The Wizard of Oz and Johnny Mnemonic.
Nothing rings true, but everything is bloated to the point of near-explosion. While
I may have had enough of Pynchon, it was nice to sit back and laugh.
Rating: 1/5
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