Slow Learner: Early Stories Paperback – April 30, 1985

This book looks almost new and it is played well. I am so satisfied and happy to buy this quality of book for cheaper price!

Love this book, that's why I ordered a copy.

The first paragraph of the introduction is almost worth the price of the collection. For the person who has not read Thomas Pynchon, it is a first class review of what his work is like. The humor and seriousness are there, tempered with a bit of Sci-Fi whimsy. But the way that he takes the stories apart and shows what is missing, is a lesson for any budding writer. This book should be taught in many writing classes. I particularily love when he disses himself for creating a rule of writing and makes himself follow it. (The list of writers who do this very thing, is a long, long list!) I also love his comment that he was showing off his "Ear" (For dialogue) before he had actually attained one.It is nice that he left these stories in the condition that he found them, but I can't help but wonder what might have happened if he had revised or revisited them now as a master of his craft. (And then printed both versions.)Thomas Pynchon (and others) have downed these stories. But, what is poor, beginning writing for someone like Pynchon, is a level that many aspiring writers NEVER achieve. The story Entropy has been reprinted several times, so even though Pynchon finds it weak, it has great value. (At least to some editors.) The first time that I read it, I was not aware that this story was repudiated by its own author.While Pynchon really requires several hundred pages to reach the stride of his genius, I would certainaly state that these stories and introduction are an excellent place to start to read Thomas Pynchon. While he is often thought of as a writer who mines the pathway, and puts up boundries for his readers, this is far from true. Granted he is a difficult writer, and you need to know a LOT of stuff to completely "Get" what his is up to, he can be read for sheer pleasure. Get what you can and try to get more on each re-reading.

good stuff

This is an interesting collection of early stories, but my bet is that those who will enjoy the book most are those people who have already bought into the Pynchon mystique. I'm one of them, to be sure, so I must confess I have enjoyed it. Some of Pynchon's talents are already here on display, but what I miss the most is the irrepressible excess and the dizzying rhythm that characterizes his later prose. Some of the stories seem to flitter and fade, caught up in curiosities that are soon cast away. The settings in which Pynchon displays his talent varies: nineteenth-century espionage, a hurricane that ravages a town in Louisiana, a dysfunctional marriage. Pynchon fans will like some of those odd situations and odd characters, such as the ending of the story "Low-lands," and the psychologist "Geronimo Diaz," from the same story. Of great interest to Pynchon readers will be the opening essay, a blunt and detailed appraisal of the stories: a rare gesture in Pynchon. (I recommend reading it last, by the way, even though it prefaces the collection.) I titled this review "a second-best starting point," and it is because people who read Pynchon for the first time will probably do best to choose "The Crying of Lot 49," in which Pynchon's greatness is already well-formed, but it is encapsulated in a manageable 150 pages (as opposed to the bulkier later work).

I agree with other reviewers that the fun of this book lies in Pynchon's thoughts of these early efforts. It made the reading of them much more enjoyable. It also made them seem better then they really were, since I realized they were not to be judged in the same light as his later works. So, the fifth star was for his honesty.This is a recommended read for any reader interested in the entire works of Pynchon.

I find myself enjoying Pynchon's stories more than Tom himself does. But I digress. If you want to see a talent arise, read this. Pynchon's critical, self-deprecating and humorous intro might be the highlight of this collection, but his stories, while flawed and reeking of "young amateur writer" are enjoyable as well and show just how precocious a writer the man is. If you're an experienced fan, get this one.

I only needed to read one story from this text and I purchased solely because it's easier for me to read printed material than electronic.