an absolutely unbelievable novel that has me real excited to re-read GR and M&D. i feel like i'd need to read many other books in order to say anything that does this one justice but what stands out to me theme-wise here is how bang on pynchon was w/r/t the nature of the transfer of global hegemony from britain to the US with all the faux-naievete, the illusions of postwar subculture, a form of administration that is less direct but no less horrific in its consequences or effects....

in the epilogue there's a line one british spook says to another about how its more honourable to labour under the illusions of 19th century power than believe for a second in the universalism in the 20th. even taking to one side the fact that a le carré type figure would of course think that, and present that as an excuse for their own part in the world order, i can't imagine another fiction writer that could process that transition, let alone represent it, without being heavy-handed