Mason & Dixon by Thomas Pynchon REVIEW

Some sources for going about Mason & Dixon:
The Pynchon Wiki for Mason & Dixon:
masondixon.pync...
Dinn's Notes, notes from a big reading of the book that are priceless to say the least (thanks to Art P for letting me know Dinn's Notes even existed):
masondixon.pync...
If you can get your hands on it, the Cambridge Companion to Thomas Pynchon features a beautiful essay by Katherine Hume on M&D.
Buy Mason & Dixon on Amazon (yep I'm an affiliate):
amzn.to/2cdSaA5
SOOO, who's your favorite, Mason or Dixon?
Let me know in the comments!
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/ the-bookchemist

[@asherdeep8948]

That theory is actually true. I read in an article that after Lot 49, Pynchon was working on two-three books. It's just more compelling evidence that he is an alien.

[@TheBookchemist]

Oh snap! I remember reading about the whole "I'm working on three novels" thing but back then I just thought he'd either collapsed them all in Gravity's Rainbow or dropped the other two! Also, the Cambridge Companion says that by the late seventies he'd walked the whole of the Mason-Dixon line by himself, so yeah I'd say he was doing research for the novel :) he's a fucking pro!

[@asherdeep8948]

The_Bookchemist He walked the line himself? Damn. And I see Purity on you to-read list: that's going to be interesting. :P Also, is V. the only the Pynchon you're left with?

[@christophersienko632]

The version I heard is that he turned down a chance to teach writing at Bennington college because he'd tasked himself with writing three novels at once (letters dating back to '75 mention work on a book about M&D, and I read elsewhere that Vineland was created "to provide temporary escape from the rhythms of the 1700s I've fallen into"), but in an earlier letter to his editor, he said four novels at once. Maybe one of those four was Lot 49, but I like to live in the hope that he's got one more *big* one up his sleeve (considering the gaps in his megaton book chronologies, I'm imagining either something taking place in the mid 1800s (after M&D but before Against the Day) or something between WWI and WWII (connecting ATD with GR).

[@TheBookchemist]

Mitchum Huehls in his essay "The Great Flattening" actually also predicted that Pynchon's next novel would be set in the mid 19th Century, probably at the time of the Civil War or the Reconstruction. I'd wager on that too!

[@christophersienko632]

If I might get even more conspiratorial for a moment...there's a line near the end of "Lot 49" where it's mentioned that The Tristero briefly consider restarting in the US: “Around 1845, the U.S. government had carried out a great postal reform, cutting their rates, putting most independent mail routes out of business. By the ‘70s and ‘80s, any independent carrier that tried to compete with the government was immediately squashed. 1849-50 was no time for any immigrating Tristero to get ideas about picking up where they’d left off back in Europe.” This immediately jumped out at me on my re-reading. The early/mid 1800s in the United States is hardly an area of great inquiry as novels go: less so for postmodernists and people exploring the fringes of the novel form in the modern day. What was happening in the obscure corners of the US around the 1820s-1860s? I don’t know. Apart from our notions of the Wild West, what did other parts of the US look like at the time? Was there a free-for-all lawlessness about it all, places where entire alternate economies (Zone economies) or postal systems were existing, tucked away in the crooks of mountains, hidden deep in anonymous grasslands, wandering through various utopian colonies in the arid Southwest? Is this time period some sort of strange, alternate Shangri-La for Pynchon, a time when unconventional people could live completely off the grid, away from the prying eyes of the US Postal Service? Shall he project a world? This is my hope.

[@TheBookchemist]

+Miss Shadowy Sure, I've read the collections Fictions and The Aleph, simply amazing. A great starting point with Pynchon is Inherent Vice, which is 100% Pynchonian and terribly engaging while being a bit easier and more accessible than most other of his books. Thanks for the suggestion too, I'll look into that FAQ thing!

[@johnmeroney2007]

I read the Borges Collected Fictions after finishing Pynchon's novels.

[@jedibix783]

I loved your review of my absolute favorite book. I wanted to say that you articulated the American author thing of loving/hating this country VERY well. It's a major tension in all of his novels and you just said it perfectly.

[@dazeofheaven]

After 7 years of struggling to get through the first hundred pages, I finally finished M&D a couple of weeks ago. I had to read his 2 most recent books first apparently, before allowing my mind to embrace his use of antiquated vernacular. That being said, I agree with your review, that 18th c. style of writing combined with Pyncon's unique style and his awareness of current (c. mid-90s) style and pop culture, is a very exciting combination... Equal to how compelling the story and side stories are... I also cried at end of the final page... I also compared the side stories, in my mind, to video game RPGs (the Final Fantasy series, my point of reference), these were all or mostly fascinating, my favorites being the duck & chef, the Canadian interlude "story within a story within a story..." which then merges with the book's "story within a story" in an indescribable way... almost like a moment that mirrors Kurt Vonnegut's breaking the 4th wall in Breakfast of Champions, but the way Pynchon handle's these surreal changes of narrative without overtly pointing it out, is one of the most inspiring things I've ever read in a novel... I also liked the tale of the two Chinese astronomers starting a chapter, which immediately proceeds as a reflection after an absurd side story about a competition between a "were-beaver" and Swedish tree chopper... This book makes me want to write endlessly, about it. Such a joy to read! I love these characters. I love Ben Franklin in it! I love the brilliant final two chapters to the section in America, to me that was the perfect ending to the book and the final section of chapters was more of an extended epilogue, though also brilliantly told... As of right now, Mason & Dixon is my favorite novel I've read.

[@TheBookchemist]

Absolutely agree, Franklyn is an awesome chracter and the bit with George Washington smoking weed too is pretty fucking glorious

[@michaelrhodes4712]

This book is amazing. It shows how beautiful and entertaining language can be. No one strings words together like Pynchon.

[@hermanmelville3871]

I've watched all your reviews of Pynchon, and you've inspired me to take a stab at his work. Keep up the fine work! P.S. I greatly enjoyed your "James Joyce As A Vlogger" parody.

[@Wampumloaf]

I just finished it earlier tonight and all I want now is to talk and listen to people who've also read it. Pynchon is already my favorite author...but I didn't know he had such an empathetic, affecting, human side until finishing this beautiful novel.

[@theslownow]

It's the only Pynchon novel that I read like four or five times (mainly because it was the topic of my Master thesis a million years ago) and I'm somehow afraid to do it again, because the ending completely wrecked me every time.

[@sixtofive]

This is one I haven't read yet, but I love your comparison to quests and side quests in modern rpg games. That really is a great way to explain the flow. You never truly leave the main story/quest but other things can temporarily take precedence and add to the overall experience in a cumulative way.

[@thomasvieth6063]

I have yet to hear or read a critique that says this book puts them in mind of The Sod Weed Factor by John Barth. It did so with me. Similar setting, similar time, similar humor

[@abstractplane2]

Great review! I'm on page 562 and I agree the French chef and the mechanical duck is a great story. Pynchon always has me torn because I love the imagination and the intertwining of the stories, but the characters never seem completely realized. But I relate more to Mason than Dixon....

[@saintdonoghue]

Fantastic! I LOVE this book -

[@keithwittymusic]

I kept waiting for this to show up in my notifications. I really don't have much to say since you know my over the top love for the novel. The rpg comparison is apt. I always felt like it was an extremely strong take on an American, Pomo Canterbury Tales. But anyway, the book is a masterpiece of the highest caliber. I can't imagine a world without it.

[@b.c.7741]

Jus finished it a couple of days ago, It was bitter-sweet yet up beat. The book is unforgettable and I really grew to love Mason and Dixon, I loved Dixon for his humour and optimism,but I could relate to Mason much more in that I'm of the darker sort. Fantastic novel, being from Philadelphia I enjoyed the Benjamin Franklin sub-plots very much(esp. the grim reaper bit) can't wait to read it again some day!

[@alfonsomango_suyu]

I agree with you, Bookchemist. Mason and Dixon are compelling characters. When I finished the book it got me a bit sad. Also I enjoyed the intromission (is that the correct word?) of Rev Cherrycoke who is the narrator of the framing story and his nephews and nieces askings. The longing of Mason of his dead wife was very touching. And some extraordinary characters like the Mechanical Duck and the Dog are simply unforgettable. I've read it in spanish but I will read it in english in the near future. Recommended book.

[@Earbly]

I believe the word you're looking for is intermission. A pause or break from a story. Also I have no idea how a book like this could be translated. It doesnt make sense.

[@theorz8698]

Ulysses and finnegans wake got translated in maybe 10 languages; so it basically means everything can be translated. No one in the history of literature was more extreme in the way he distorted (in a good way) and shapped the english language than joyce.

[@thuntz29]

This sound like my first Pynchon...

[@originoflogos]

I'm still reading it. Have alot on my plate. I am reading it alongside Against the Day--so who knows how long it'll take for me to finish them lol

[@TheBookchemist]

That's impressive! Good luck :)

[@sebastianwang670]

i've got Mason & Dixon arriving in the mail on saturday and am absolutely dying to start reading it!

[@TheBookchemist]

Enjoy :D I am dying for a re-read!

[@lyndao7356]

Yes, I'm going to read it. But first I'm going to read some of the secondary literature on it. The essay you mention sounds first rate.

[@janllh24]

Great review. Just finished it this evening.Listening to your comments on the theme of America I'm struck by the fact that neither M&D nor Cherrycoke are native Americans, so providing Pynchon with a means to view his homeland through foreign eyes

[@UnseenGlasses]

Always love hearing your thoughts! I haven't gotten around to reading Mason & Dixon yet, but every once in awhile I read the first dozen or ao pages and am blown away by them every time. I'm excited for the special day when I finally sit down to read it. I read Tristram Shandy earlier this year and adored it, so I figured I would also read Tom Jones before M&D to better acquainted myself with 18th century picaresque romps. Maybe The Sot-Weed Factor as well since it's a conceptually simular book and I love Barth just as much as I love Pynchon. So... I probably won't get around to M&D for a few years, but when I do I'll be sure to let you know what I think, haha.

[@UnseenGlasses]

As for American artists who show both a genuine love for Americana and acknowledge all of the darkness inherent to it, I can think of no greater practitioner than David Lynch. Most artists would show the ideal American towns in Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks solely for the sake of juxtaposing them against the abuse and pain hidden underneath, but Lynch so clearly and unironically loves these places and their diners and coffee and pies that the resulting films and TV shows achieve a tone that I have never seen captured anywhere else.

[@UnseenGlasses]

+Ross McLean The music of Tom Waits captures something similar for me, as well.

[@TheBookchemist]

Totally agree on Tom Waits!, whereas I have to confess I've never watched Twin Peaks or any David Lynch, but now that you put it like that I kinda want to check out the show! Oh and for about six months before I started M&D I too had an habit of reading the first five-ten pages over and over, they are just so utterly beautiful :)

[@TheBookchemist]

Let me know how it goes with the novel, and with the Sot-Weed Factor too, I'm interested in that one too!

[@UnseenGlasses]

+The_Bookchemist Blue Velvet is probably the place to start with Lynch. It's one of his very best, and is the perfect litmus test for how much you'll like the rest of his work.

[@sumikatti]

Great video, very informative and helpful! I would love to read this novel. It sounds fascinating..I'm just afraid I won't understand the language. I have been reading novels in English, but I have trouble keeping up if the language gets too creative or some sort of unfamiliar slang is used very heavily etc.

[@CamPirrip]

I've never had the chance to read through this, but I love the comparison to side quests. I'll definitely have to consider adding this to my to-read list.

[@natelepine7839]

I’d enjoy your take on some William T. Vollman.

[@80085word69]

Love the theory on history. Makes me want to re-read it in the near future. Just finished The Tunnel, which also deals with history in the same way. The main character finishes his book on the history of Nazi Germany and finds himself writing a novel about his own life since he finds he can't bring himself to write an introduction. He hides the pages of this between the pages of his manuscript of the history of Nazi Germany so his wife/colleagues/etc won't find it in the interim.

[@pavlos307]

I love Thomas Pynchon,I've read all of his work,2-3 times!Except Mason and Dixon,I couldn't read it.I've stopped 2-3 times around page 100 or something!

[@andrewcameron6709]

Would you recommend reading some 18th century novels before Mason and Dixon? If so which ones?

[@blaze34]

I had to stop reading Gravity's Rainbow to read Ubik and The Left Hand of Darkness (I'm currently on this one). I can't express how less painful those two are... I liked the Crying of Lot 49 very much. You said it was your least favourite; I suppose Bleeding Edge and c. are awesome, then! I'm reading the translated version of GR, even though I have an original. The descriptive parts are very difficult, even in my native language.

[@TheBookchemist]

That's completely fine - I had to do the same halfway through a couple of difficult readings myself (American Psycho, most notably)! Ubik is awesome, hope you liked it :)

[@gobisGalaxy_star]

I did not enjoy 'The Sot-Weed Factor' by John Barth, which also largely takes place in 18th century United States. Is this book similar? I am a Pynchon fan.

[@TheBookchemist]

I couldn't say - I've never read The Sot-Weed Factor, my only Barth so far is Lost in the Funhouse. I've been told that the two books are similar, but if you're a Pynchon fan I'd wager you'll love Mason & Dixon :)

[@Earbly]

I obviously figured that Mason & Dixon would be a smoother read than Gravity's Rainbow. But it seems Gravity's Rainbow was not hard to read, but hard to comprehend. Comprehend what was happening, who was talking sometimes etc... While it's easy to figure out what's occuring in M&D, I'm having a slow go of actually reading it. The language is definitely throwing me for a loop, and I'm a native English speaker. Since English is not your primary language, did you read a translation? Or did you power through the original English?

[@TheBookchemist]

I did my best with the original English - I always read English books in the original, at least since a few years ago. I don't really know how it would be possible to translate M&D! Pynchon in general is the bane of translators but this must be a hell of a job.

[@Earbly]

Hahah yeah, I saw you had a translation of Gravity's Rainbow into Italian, and I thought wow some of those passages must have been some extremely long nights to decide how to translate them. Like the sodium amytol trip.

[@nicholasluu5024]

I really want to read this! I need to get through The Recognitions (if I like it enough I'll read JR) and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and then I can finally read this. The language of it, from what I've read of it, is so beautiful. There are only three writers who I'll pick up and turn to a random page and just read to feel better: Joyce, Shakespeare, and Pynchon. And Mason and Dixon is the book I usually do that with.

[@AnchovyRun]

If you'd like a recomendation for a book with beautiful language on any page pick up a Cormac McCarthy novel! I'd suggest "No Country For Old Men" or "All The Pretty Horses" to start with but they're all amazing and changed my way of looking at books. I'll have to pick up a Pynchon soon!

[@nicholasluu5024]

+Anchovy Run I love what I've read from McCarthy. A book I really need to read is Blood Meridian. I usually read multiple books at once but that's one of the books I'm going to need to drop everything to read. But The Road was great, and the first half of blood meridian (I never finished unfortunately) was fucking beautiful.

[@AnchovyRun]

Yeah Blood Meridian is definitely one of his best pieces but I'd definitely recommend reading that one solo haha! The Judge is without a doubt one of the most memorable characters that I've ever read and some of the philosophy that he's got written in to that character's dialogue is really thought provoking

[@Abstractreference260]

@@AnchovyRun I'm in complete agreement with you there the Judge is one of the most enigmatic characters I've come across in literature... where does suttree rank amongs Mcarthys works

[@juancardenass6474]

Great review. Recommendations. Please improve on your video editing. Add photos, videos, short clips etc. Make it visually appeal. Overall, good stuff.

[@tateroce3885]

As a person with a certain understanding of language in its sociological evolution, I'd like to ask you, as a literary nerd, should I learn fluently Greek or whichever language to understand literature as a whole? I hate reading in restriction to the English language. I appreciate your videos and value your perspective

[@TheBookchemist]

That's a huge question!, and there's no real answer I'm afraid. It depends on what you are interested in. I'm not a classicist and far from an expert, but I believe that Greek gives you an understanding of the way lexicon and syntax work in many modern languages, but if we're talking about Literature I'd say Latin is probably more crucial, as Latin literature influenced Medieval European lit even more than Greek literature (I think). But again, if you are interested in Early Modern Literature, especially in poetry, it would make more sense to study Italian, which influenced European literature extensively at the time, while if you're more into modern literature proper (19th C and forward) French is the language for you, followed by Russian. The catch is that if you're interested in literature you'd need to learn any of these pretty thoroughly, enough to understand archaic texts in that specific language - it's no small feat! As for the idea of "getting a better understanding of history," again, I'd say Latin much more than Greek, it was the world lingua franca until not so long ago. Good luck with whatever you choose, keep me updated :)

[@ulpana]

@@TheBookchemist Very tough\tricky to get lit satire in any lingo not one's own...Tingles come when one gets satirical like TP. Or, Margaret A. or Lenny B. or George C. or Dick G. or Paul K. The Realist archives are up online, try Krassner and see whatcha can get to tingle if'n not hip to underground 1960's 70's 80's 90's fin de siecle US mongrel countercultural Spanglo.....Amazigh\Berber readers in trouble since their great satirists like Tahar Djaout are writing in French rather than the indigenous Tamazight most Algerians get with their Mothers' milk........ Does Vonnegut translate well? Especially into tough on satire tongues like German?! Jest askin' Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers) Media Discussion List\Looksee

[@marcosviniciusoitauna6071]

I've started with Inherent Vice, and now I need to choose another Pynchon's book to read. Give me a suggestion Bookchemist.

[@TheBookchemist]

If you liked IV for its style, go for Bleeding Edge; if you liked its setting and themes, then I'd say Crying of Lot 49

[@gabbyhyman1246]

Try V

[@ulpana]

@@TheBookchemist After reading Bleeding Edge lo those seemingly many years after 9-11-01 struck me that unless one lived in a cave, and even Bin Laden would get the satire in Bleeding Edge, if not the familial poignancy and urban sense of insular communal comforts most Gotham City residents take for granted. I interviewed satirical songwriter Loudon Wainwright III once for an SF alt weekly and asked Loud when he was living in London after NYC about this or that world event and he replied that living in London or NYC (or Montreal) gave a resident the sense that the world began and ended at the City Line.....Back to M & D and those surveyor's lines.......... Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers) Media Discussion List\Looksee

[@VagabondBohemia]

Excellent over(re)view. I agree that it's definitely not a good starting place for Pynchon but that it is a masterpiece. btw Did you turn in your dissertation yet? Hope all is going well!

[@TheBookchemist]

I did! I graduated in mid July :) everything went well but it's such a busy moment I didn't really have time to really relax, and I probably won't for quite some time more :P

[@tateroce3885]

That's not to ask, "Which language should I learn," but rather which language to gain fluency would grant me a better understanding of history?

[@tateroce3885]

I'd love to read more of your writing. Do you write more in Italian, or English?

[@TheBookchemist]

I write in English! I've got a few stories coming out in anthologies and magazines in the next month, and I'm looking for an agent for my debut novel. It'll take ages but I'll get it out there!

[@williamrobinson6059]

The_Bookchemist Are you still writing?

[@ItsFrauLehmann]

Just finished. The last couple of pages really got to me. I do prefer Mason though, with the Rebekah side story and all.

[@abhivohra30]

Hi. I am curious about how much you knew of the actual story of Mason and Dixon and about the line?. If i am not wrong it is a fantastical version of the story, so i am guessing one would be able to understand the book better if he knows the actual story. Did you?

[@TheBookchemist]

I knew next to squat about the line! I know it's an important piece of American history but that's about it. I think indeed you need some context to fully understand the novel (or at least to approach a certain level of understanding), but I honestly think a crash course in 18th Century popular culture and thought would be more useful than the actual history of the line. Both because, of course, "actual history" is a concept postmodern literature exists to deny, and also because Mason & Dixon deals with the line proper only in its second half. It's by no means all there is in the book.

[@ulpana]

@@TheBookchemist "...but I honestly think a crash course in 18th Century popular culture and thought would be more useful than the actual history of the line. Both because, of course, "actual history" is a concept postmodern literature exists to deny, and also because Mason & Dixon deals with the line proper only in its second half. It's by no means all there is in the book." Let me second that perfectly well-stated emotion! Tio Mitchito

[@marlonblade007]

I'm half way through, I'll get back to you, fella!

[@TheBookchemist]

Do let me know :)

[@KeithSchumacherPortfolio]

This book has stumped me despite multiple attempts. It seems there are different sects of pynchon fans. I loved lot 49, against the day, and rainbow. But couldn't stand inherent vice, V (though finished them) and wasn't able to complete vineland and mason dixon. Is mason dixon just harder to crack?

[@TheBookchemist]

It's hard, probably one of Pynchon's hardest, but I wouldn't say it's harder than Gravity's Rainbow, and I'd definitely say it's much more rewarding than GR on a page-by-page basis. If you had no problems with GR, it might just be that M&D is not your cup of tea!

[@isawamoose]

How do I look up this book and find you invoking NEVERWINTER NIGHTS as a comparison? Hot dog that's insta sell for me.

[@justinllo]

this book is unbelievable. your comments about "america" need to take into consideration what the visto line actually meant to the country from a geo-politico sense. it separated the north of dixon from the south of mason, in england, locally, and pennsylvania from maryland, in the new country.

[@rockripper2380]

Reading Pynchon can be like treading treacle at times ,I wish the style could be devoured and flow more readily like Danielewski at his best.

[@Abstractreference260]

Sorry what author are you referring to? I googled Danielewski and nothing came up

[@JohnnyCashavetes]

I thought you'd go DeLillo with Pynchon's brother in American ambivalence, and then you hit us with Stephen King. I wondered why you hadn't reviewed Zero K yet. Little did I know, you were attacking this mammoth of a novel. The language of Mason & Dixon has terrified me from reading it so far.

[@TheBookchemist]

Zero K's currently crossing Europe on its way to me :)! Although I still haven't decided whether I'll finish Purity or read that one first (in the meanwhile I'm checking out some other stuff). DeLillo definitely shows the same too but he is perhaps a bit more sober, or perhaps it's just that he shows his love in a bit of a different way - like in the passages of Underworld set in the Italian neighborhood, his love for the place is so clear.

[@JohnnyCashavetes]

He definitely loves that neighborhood, but even while loving it, he seems uneasy about being nostalgic. I understand what you're saying completely, though. I see DeLillo's (sometimes) cold prose coloring things differently in the opposite direction, like in White Noise, where I think he's downright ridiculing a lot of aspects of society, but his icy prose makes it less obvious. Zero K is a fast read, and might seem even more so after what you just read.

[@evanfont913]

Amazon affiliate link?

[@TheBookchemist]

Fixed ;)!

[@evanfont913]

Purchased. I've really enjoyed your videos so I'm happy to support, even if I don't always agree with your assessments haha.

[@justinllo]

because it took 17 years to write and 4 years to edit... can't you see which pages were written when? the language of this book is not entirely consistent. it was written in patches. it would have never been finished, but for the macarthur fellowship.

[@justinllo]

i agree with your comment about being "addicted to narratives" entirely.

[@vladimiripod]

man, i enjoy pynchon, although my acquiescence includes merely GR and M&D. but booooi this dude writes obscurely. i mean, you understand all words in sentence separately, but put together they sort of dont make much sence :D and that keeps on like 40-50% of the book(in gr it's 70 to 80 :D. and that's the only pretension towards pynchon from my side

[@TheBookchemist]

The upside of that is that, while all good literature improves on re-reading, Pynchon's novels have a tendency to look better and better on an absurd scale every time you read them anew :D

[@ulpana]

@@TheBookchemist Bingo, I'd never really thought of TP as being part of Theater of Absurd, but he fits in 'tween Babe, Beckett, Bogosian, Cassavettes, Jayne Cortez, Ionesco, Andrea Martin with Catherine O'Hara and rest of improvising cast of SCTV, Elaine May, Murray Mednick, Ish Reed, William Saroyan, Patti Smith and Antonin Artaud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Especially dem and dose radio plays..... Mitch Ritter\Paradigm Sifters, Code Shifters, PsalmSong Chasers Lay-Low Studios, Ore-Wa (Refuge of Atonement Seekers) Media Discussion List\Looksee

[@triple_gem_shining]

terence mckenna recommended me this book

[@sneakybeaver8866]

Would you link please?

[@therightsofthereader6094]

I'll send you THE FAMILIAR VOLUME 3 it you can't afford it yet.

[@TheBookchemist]

Hey that's very kind man, but I recently bought it, it's here by my side on my shelf :)

[@therightsofthereader6094]

good man. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[@helpyourcattodrive]

Ok