Review of V. by Thomas Pynchon

Just finished reading V. by Thomas Pynchon, from 1963. here’s my review. Spoiler alert! Don’t blame me if I ruin it for you. The main character, Profane, is a sailor, naturally, and he’s the good guy. Stencil is his doppelganger, or evil side. Both of them spend the book looking for V, or “V”, which will bring them, you know, enlightenment, happiness, love, great riches, or whatever. The first place to look, naturally, is EVIL; you can’t ignore the v there! Then there are all the other V’s. Some of these are wild goose chases (or said by the one of the sinister German characters “VILD goose hunt”—of course there are a lot of Germans, ex-nazis, “var” criminals and such, and stuff about the V-1 and the V-2 missiles and their “wicious nature.” Is V the victory sign or the peace sign? That is the question! ON the way, like I was saying, there are a lot of false leads, but that’s the point, red herrings, with coleslaw and what’s that white shit that goes with fish. IT’s Friday, and every Friday here in Schaumberg I think about going to a FISH fry, because I used to live in MILWAuKEE. There are no FISHFRYs in Schaumburg, only oven-fired pizza. Don’t worry the editor robot will remove all that. I need a cigarette—a ViceRoy! There is a VAST tobacco company conspiracy, and a vacuum cleaner salesman, Voss, and Vince Vaughn, a “voman” known to be a Virgin the last, in Virginia. Okay, viscidities vacillate and go Vroom! Very very very good VSOP brandy is drank. Don’t forget the roman number 5! Vacation from vector and Indian boy named Venkatesh, V carved in marble is actually U: (MVESEVM) A gimlet at Victor’s helps vacillate the Add Visory committee when asking for Ad*vice, use the Variable Symbol for image distance Or the Symbol for instantaneous potential difference or the Symbol for instantaneous voltage or the Symbol for specific volume try Vale and Vector main Vein terminal Velocity component and speed. Ventilator blues Ventral as a Verb, verbal Verse Versus Vertical plotline Via Vicarage in Vide paying the Violin with a Virus due to the Visibility of his Vision and the inevitability of his Vocative Voice at the rim of the Volcano, high Voltage Vowels Become Luminous with potential energy, and Potential efficiency and Potential Vanadium Variable regional Vats of Venerable Versions of Vespers who the Vicar of the Village and the Viscount Volunteer Victoria for, you know. Is V a cross or Vietcong? Is it Vapor density, various dates, or venereal disease? Is it the general Verb or intransitive or vide infra? With Vide supra and vice versa! Voucher attached for V-6 engine or V8 juice? Value added or value deleted analysis Or Ventricular arrhythmia Or Veterans’ administration or vicar apostolic or vice admiral OF Virginia Or Visual air Or voice of America only Volunteer artillery, nO! Vacancy forced Vaccination, homebound Vagabonds and reversed Vasectomy for Valentines Day. It’s all there, but the main thing is the women, the classic noir names: Velma And Vera who of course are Vicious and ever bit at viscous as they are Vast, and vacuous, and operating in a vacuum. But you CAN’T tell me in the END that V is anything but the Vagina. OK! It’s a fun book and a quick read, but don’t try to figure it out. It’s a can of VERMS.