From the Bookshelf of The Roundtable…

Mason & Dixon

Thomas Pynchon

Start date: July 1, 2020

Finish date: October 1, 2020

Discussion: Fiction Group Reads

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Fiction Group Reads

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What Members Thought

Aug 14, 2020 Christopher rated it really liked it

Shelves: 21st-century, 500-pages-or-more, american, fiction, great-american-novel, postmodern

Whenever I finish a book like this—one that feels like an accomplishment, that I’ve poured months of my life into—I ask myself what the book was all about. It’s not always an easy answer. These encyclopedic, maximalist novels contain so much that it’s hard to boil them down to their essence. Pynchon, in particular, throws so many characters and plots and digressions and dense language at the reader, it’s enough to be able to stay afloat and power through to the end.

But this book, I think it’s a ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Aug 22, 2020 Wendy rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, historical-fiction, doorstops, 2020

I occasionally finish long books in a rush of affection not unlike Stockholm-syndrome, or perhaps beset by that ecstatic glow of endorphins that hits a few minutes after stumbling across a marathon finish line.

"That was some book!" I exclaim (I'm laid out on my back on the floor at this point, because the effort of reading an 800 page book, or even holding it upright, has become too much). Fresh in my memory are all the really good parts: the characterization, the warm buddy-chemistry between t ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 25, 2020 Petra rated it liked it

An interesting read. My first book by Thomas Pynchon and it won't be my last.

A strange book to review. Set in the style of an oral story being told by the fireside, it leaves open plenty of room for embellishments, fantasies, exaggerations. All of this is entertaining, amusing and weirdly fun.
The historical fiction story of Mason & Dixon takes more of a background to the storyteller's version (and side stories) of events. Yet it all blends together for a fun ride. One does not, though, come aw ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Jun 22, 2024 Pamela rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001-read

Rollicking and slightly manic account of Mason & Dixon’s gruelling labour to mark the boundary lines of territories in the US. It is a kind of historical fiction, but mixes in politics, philosophy, cultural references, and snatches of rhyme and doggerel, There are narratives within narratives, storylines that overlap and merge, and lots of wordplay and puns (and a fair amount of rather childish innuendo).

I loved the relationship between Mason & Dixon, their bickering and moments of friendship, a ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 28, 2019 Gerard rated it it was amazing

Shelves: college, favorites

Without a doubt, Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon has skyrocketed to the top of the vast pile of my all time favorite novels. It may seem both off-putting and intimidating at first to pick up a postmodern, experimental tomb written in 18th century style, especially by Pynchon, but it is so worth the adventure. Pynchon's encyclopedic knowledge of advanced mathematics, astronomy, history, philosophy, architecture, physics and geography is nothing short of inspirational for me as a writer. Not only ...more

1 like · Like · see review