Inherent Vice

Tubular, Dude

A hippie PI back in the good old days when dope was rampant along the beach and everybody was always willing to get high is the star of Inherent Vice. Best read under the spell of LSD, Thomas Pynchon's detective novel meanders along with its unique observations, colorful characters, and well, there's a plot, too. Right, dude. You see, bad guys are doing bad things, and many people, including good guys are caught up in the bad things. Who could you trust more to look into these things than a doped up hippie PI? The book is best read with little expectations, so, when you get into it, you will laugh out loud as I did at the dry humor, be puzzled by the constantly changing cast of characters and the re-spinning of facts that you thought you knew already.
Then, just about when you think the trip is ending, there's a final ride to be had. Who are you going to trust? The facts or the dope?

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

An average story, nothing great

I found this story to be choppy, jumping back and forth without a lot of clarification.

2 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Thomas Pynchon becomes user friendly...

If you are already down with Thomas Pynchon (had to throw in some slang) then please ignore this first part. Pynchon's works can be a maze of obscure history and twisting plots. Some of his books are best read with a companion guide. But this book...well it stands fine on its own and is a great gateway into the strange world of Thomas Pynchon.

Pynchon is my all time favorite author and a man I think deserves all the praise he receives. His newest tale is pretty cool and one that will be a sure fire hit with fans of the 60's counter culture and/or detective novels. The only complaint that I have is that at certain times the plot seemed to drag a bit for me. Not that I would cut down his work but there seemed some parts that just were there for the sake of being there. Maybe that's just my take. I did love the plot and some of the bizarre images that Mr. Pynchon delivers (The Godzilligan Island part had me rolling).

Over all it was a good read with some neat history...it just wasn't my favorite of his. But there already is a "V" and "Gravities Rainbow" so there's no point in him pulling and AC/DC and putting out the same product over and over again. If you read this Mr. Pynchon...good job.

P.S. Does anyone else hear Tommy Chong as the voice of Doc?

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Inherent Vice

Fast, crazy, outrageous, funny. Lot's of characters to track. It's a lot of fun to read

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I forced my way through this book only to get my $20 worth.

The story as well as the writing style was very hard to follow. At some points I had no idea what was going on or how it related to the overall plot of the story. The author uses more question marks than periods in the text, which makes the writing extremely confusing. If I hadn't spent my own money on ordering the book, I wouldn't have made it past the 2nd chapter. I wouldn't recommend this book at all.

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Not my favorite

dialogue between characters and other references were so jungoistic that I did not understand much of what was going on. Conversally, there was some definite humor when I finally did understand

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Revisiting The Sixties

Did you miss the whole '60's scene? The hippie, wanna-be-free feeling of beachfront California? Fear not. Readers can revisit this environment in Thomas Pynchon's book, Inherent Vice. Pynchon fans will recognize his style here; a rambling story that meanders from cultural icon to cultural icon, taking the reader along to whatever destination Pynchon has in mind, entertaining them along the way.

Inherent Vice is the story of Doc Sportello, a private investigator who spends as little time working as he can get by on. He is visited by his ex-girlfriend, Shasta, who wants Doc to find her new boyfriend who seems to have disappeared. In the process of unraveling this mystery, Doc leads the reader through the discovery of the Internet, beach/surf music, a diabolical Eastern drug cartel, various right-wing thugs working for governmental or police agencies, Las Vegas before it was turned into Disneyland West, tons of marijuana smoking, lots of sex, and plenty of dubious characters. The whole chaotic journey devolves into a satisfactory conclusion where all the puzzles are solved and the good guys prevail.

This book is recommended for all readers. Pynchon is an American treasure, one of the authors whose work will be read far into the future. His keen eye notes the details that make up a culture while his style entertains. Pynchon fans will be pleased with this book, and those who haven't yet discovered this author will be pleasantly surprised.

Pynchon Fans Will Love This

I have not read any Pynchon in a while. I read Mason and Dixon when it was new, and I was not too impressed by that. And, that was over ten years ago? I read V and Gravity's Rainbow, and Crying of Lot 49 in the 70's. So, it is difficult for me to compare this to his other works. But, my general feel is that is a typical Pynchon crazy-quilt of a book. Very inventive plot and filled with popular culture references - music (particularly surfer music), films (the main character is a huge John Garfield fan) and TV (many referrals to the standard network series of the time).
This takes place in 1969, in post-Sharon Tate murder Los Angeles. Doc Sportello is a private eye, and he is initially approached by an old girl friend who is now involved with a real estate developer. She is afraid is that he about to be involuntarily committed by his wife, or worse. Then, Doc is hired by a woman who's husband was reported to have died in a drug overdose, but she believes that he is still alive. While investigating these two cases, Doc gets stuck in the middle of an intricate web of nefarious activity revolving around a secret syndicate of some sort called the Golden Fang and perhaps the LAPD.
Not everyone will be taken in by this book. But, I love Pynchon's sense of humor and identify with Doc's penchant for constantly getting high.

Think Bjorn Borg, circa 1991-93

Thomas Pynchon's playing with a wooden racket; the usual Pynchon wackiness palls after about 18 pages. It's readable, yes, even somewhat entertaining in spots, but TP should leave this kind of writing to the people who do it best--Michael Connelly, Henning Mankell, et alia.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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