Wednesday, November 13, 2013

BOOKS: The Bleeding Edge, by Thomas Pynchon




Requirements for understanding this novel:  1) be a cybercrime techie 2) live in Manhattan 3) be skilled in Noel Coward-like repartee 4) I keep up with pop culture and cool bands  5) for some obscure ironic reason, be completely oblivious to 9-11

Otherwise, you can laugh at some of the funny little “bits” provided in between the  sequences of descent into the virtual underworld, entered by backdoors, secret passwords, hacking, and stolen software.  There are also interludes with gangsters, children strung together with a narrative about a sexy housewife detective pursuing a money-laundering criminal. 


I read it because it was Pynchon and I leave it to cooler heads than mine to decide if this novel has any merit.  Me, I am dazed and confused, but now I know it.  I think I’ll just go fishing.

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