>reading Gravity's Rainbow
>someone asks me what it's about
>"It's a multifacted critique of war, imperialism, and human degradation in general and the complicity of capitalism and scientific culture in these global ills. It is set mostly in Europe during WWII and centers primarily the American Lieutenant Tyrone Slothrop, who becomes involved in a bizarre and chilling conspiracy involving one German V-2 rocket bomb of special (but vague) significance. The scope of the novel is very large, featuring numerous tangets that enrich both the world of the novel and its philosophical content, but in a way that can sometimes seem obscure and difficult to summarize. The novel's unique style and formal structure reflect its anti-rationalist stance. It is occasionally obscene and has quite a bizarre sense of humor. It is, in just about every way, a transgressive work of literature, and I very highly recommend it.
I really don't understand how a literate, decently well-read person can read Pynchon and not get it. His themes are upfront, intelligible, and not hard to understand, despite how complex his books are structurally, and strange stylistically. It's "weird," but it's not fucking difficult.