Gravity's Rainbow Sucks ( A photo review)

Gravity's Rainbow came to my attention by way of recommendation in a book by an author I value. Can't win them all.


The book itself has a beautiful cover, nice backing and quality pages roughed on the edge. Nothing more can be said in the way of praise.

Many reviews are there for the reading, mostly written by people hoping to impress themselves and others by following some "simple rules" for this so called postmodern epic.

From the Pynchon wiki site:

"Lindsay Gillies:Four short principles for newbies:
Read each word, one after the other. Gravity's Rainbow is a deeply interconnected stream of jazz — you can't skim it.
Let the stream affect you without trying to figure it out. Give up to it.
Commit to getting through the first 50 pages. It's something very different than most other stuff you've read; not harder, just harder to hear.
If, after 1, 2 & 3, you still don't connect, don't write it off, just put it away for a while."
In other words don't bother thinking for yourself. In the postmodern world talent, effort, plot and basic writing skills simply get in the way of....

"The major difficulty in reading Gravity's Rainbow is one of form, of knowing where the hell we are and what is going on. Though GR is often touted as a formless novel, this is a serious misnomer which misreads lack of plot for lack of narrative coherence. " - a positive review

Well, nevermind.

Discussing this masterpiece would only sully it.
































Gravity's Rainbow is available at your local bookstore for $20.00. While more expensive than fireword it is more compact, softer and burns with a surprising amount of heat. Curl up with one, by the fire, sing the banana breakfast song and watch as the flames turn the pages for you.


"Time to gather your arse up off the floor,
(have a bana-na)
Brush your teeth and go toddling off to war.
Wave your hand to sleepy land,
Kiss those dreams away,
Tell Miss Grable you're not able,
Not till V-E Day,
oh,Ev'rything'll be grand in Civvie Street(have a bana-na)
Bubbly wine and girls wiv lips so sweet--
But there's still the German or two to fight,
So show us a smile that's shiny bright,
And then, as we may have suggested once before--
Gather yer blooming arse up off the floor!" - GR

Share your hatred story

horriblebook@gmail.com

2500 something miles.

Rain?

Is that legible?

Someplace, maine

Damnit, I missed the turn off for acadia by about 40 miles. Making good
time. Freezing and wet this morning, rain seems to be gone finally. Bay
of fundy was worth the stop over, got some nice photos. Finally got
everyonels messages, hello Gary! Meeting a lot of bikers up here from
all over the place and plenty of people interested in the 08 klr. I got
so used to the vast canadian distances that its easy to blow through the
states without noticing.

Forty five road, fundy provincial park

Found some dirt. Nice empty road, technically closed but the park people
told me to use it. Tires are amazing, good choice. This feels like
pavement, even the wet parts. Lots of rain but that's a given.

Trenchfoot rocks, ortliebs aren't waterproof

Pei ferry

Port hastings

Caribou

Nice camp sites up here. All I can hear is wind and crashing surf. And
the rain.

Plans change

I need a bigger tent. Anyhow, a trip to the rock really requires three
weeks and it's not fun passing all the good parts of nova scotia. So,
I'll just bum around and enjoy it here for a while.

Let's talk about underestimating distance

Just getting to sydney from ny is equal to iowa city. The local bikers
in digby raised their eyebrows when I mentioned gros morne and my
schedule, told me they'd like to get there someday. Guess that means ill
have to explore nova scotias coast on the next trip although I am
wondering about flying back to work the weekend, then flying back up to
my bike. Something to think about. 400 kilometers left today, I should
make sydney by 8pm for the midnight ferry. Hopefully I won't get seasick
while trying to sleep.
Newfoundland is huge. With any luck I can spend a few days there before
rushing back. By now I haven't seen a damn thing, just riding.
Time for another 5 hour leg and the ipod ran out of juice.

Saint John - Digby ferry

Bay fundy

Not exactly camping

I'm cold and tired so stopped before st john. Going to hit the ferry
tomorrow.
Rather amazing story on the news. Some huge guy calmly stabbed, gutted
and decapitated a sleeping traveler on a canadian greyhound bus,
dropping the head at the feet of witnesses barricading the bus exit with
crowbars, "like it was no big deal. I'd just smoked a cigarette with
this man."

Now the news people are whinging for "bus security".

Also, newfoundland is drowning in floods.

Beautiful ride up here. Sky looks like winter , chilly and lots of fog.
Saw the low tide state for the Bay of Fundy. People seem friendlier than
other parts of Canada. it's certainly prettier. Salt marshes, rock
cliffs and trees.

Border time

You want rain?

Rain gear doest help here, it only funneled the water into me. My boots
filled to overflowing as I peered through a raindrop size clear spot in
the visor, looking for moose and trailers. On a bright note I could
drink water through my helmet vent.

It works

For now. Lets be inelligent and keep going further away.

This is a b king

It's a piece of shit but looking at it beats sitting in a parking lot
with hookers. At least there was a subway though.
Dealership is nice, they're really accomodating me on account of my
situation. I joking asked if they'd trade me in on a concours, then came
looking for one. Sadly sold out. I probably would have done it, so
that's a good thing.
Maybe ill buy them out of dirtbike dvds, ask for the nearest hotel and
liqour store.
Travelwise I have too much shit, and its too damn heavy. Again. Panniers
are beginning to seem a nice solution. And a bmw. That way when it
strands me, I can pay five times as much.

Not gonna work

Damned if I cn fix it. Called a dealer and they suspect the compression
release and valves, problems plaguing these bikes. Problems my dealer
didn't want to investigate. Who knows? Maybe the choke cable, doesn't
make sense though.
I guess I'll spend the day getting towed, hanging with mechanics and
thinking about buying a concourse or a ural.

So

I guess my little problem came back to haunt me. Stuck near rockville
CT. Bike shut off at idle and won't start. Battery is nearly dead and
the nearest dealer is 40 minutes away. Mile 144. Excellent.

That's more proper

And we're off.

Eastern Canada and the Horseless Horse

Might as well begin writing these things up as they happen.

My planning phase derailed somewhere around February. Four days to departure, working overnights and skimming through forum posts, maps and image files for ideas. I'll probably just ride out of here without a plan, without sleep and with a 1,000 mile goal.

The KLR650 is primed with new tires, new pegs and a tire pump. Possibly adding a real skidplate and new luggage.

This log will be updated by phone pictures and email.