In case you missed it — maybe you were like me and watching the World Baseball Classic — my favorite author Thomas Pynchon received a shout out at the Oscars. (I know, I know many readers loathe Pynchon, but I hope you will indulge me.)
Director of “One Battle After Another” Paul Thomas Anderson won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his rewrite of Pynchon’s novel Vineland. “One Battle” was based on the 1990 novel, which I purchased and read at the time because it was Pynchon’s first novel since Gravity’s Rainbow. Of course, I read Vineland so long ago, I have little recollection of the novel and how it compared to the film that won best picture.
Shadow Ticket Synopsis
Coincidently, I just finished reading Pynchon’s first book in 12 years, Shadow Ticket. (The famous recluse is now 88 years old and like Sean Penn he didn’t go to the Oscars either.)
But to facilitate my understanding of the book and to have any hope of keeping the zany plot and all its inhabitants straight to enjoy the book (which I did), I made notes on all 39 chapters.
But you don’t have to flip through a deck of handwritten cards because I have posted them online at https://bit.ly/Shadow_Ticket_Synopsis. This is kind of citizen scholarship, which means it is kind of a work in progres.
So if you’re a Pynchon fan who is reticent to tackle another one of his books. Or if you have already read Shadow Ticket and want to relive some of the book, check out the synopsis.
And this isn’t the first time, I have done something like this. I am one of founding members of the Gravity’s Rainbow Support Group and our meeting minutes are online at https://bit.ly/30712Rx
murraybrowne.org 
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