Against the Day

A Novel

By: Thomas Pynchon

Narrated by: Dick Hill

Length: 53 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

"Spanning the period between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the years just after World War I, this novel moves from the labor troubles in Colorado to turn-of-the-century New York, to London and Gottingen, Venice and Vienna, the Balkans, Central Asia, Siberia at the time of the mysterious Tunguska Event, Mexico during the Revolution, postwar Paris, silent-era Hollywood, and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all.

"With a worldwide disaster looming just a few years ahead, it is a time of unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places. No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred. The sizable cast of characters includes anarchists, balloonists, gamblers, corporate tycoons, drug enthusiasts, innocents and decadents, mathematicians, mad scientists, shamans, psychics, and stage magicians, spies, detectives, adventuresses, and hired guns. There are cameo appearances by Nikola Tesla, Bela Lugosi, and Groucho Marx.

"As an era of certainty comes crashing down around their ears and an unpredictable future commences, these folks are mostly just trying to pursue their lives. Sometimes they manage to catch up; sometimes it's their lives that pursue them.

"Meanwhile, the author is up to his usual business. Characters stop what they're doing to sing what are for the most part stupid songs. Strange sexual practices take place. Obscure languages are spoken, not always idiomatically. Contrary-to-the-fact occurrences occur. If it is not the world, it is what the world might be with a minor adjustment or two. According to some, this is one of the main purposes of fiction.

"Let the reader decide, let the reader beware. Good luck."
—Thomas Pynchon

©2006 Thomas Pynchon (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Pynchon's] funniest and arguably his most accessible novel." (New York Times Book Review)
"Pynchon delivers a novel that matches his most influential work, Gravity's Rainbow...in complexity, humor, and insight, and surpasses it in emotional valence....A capacious, gritty, and tender epic." (Booklist)

Brilliant performance

The narrator's work on this book deserves to be recognized as one of the great audio performances. Showing infinite patience with an interminable book, the narrator keeps the characters distinct, employing different voices. By bringing out the pathos and humor in each character, he shows that he understands Pynchon's book, or is at least willing to try. His rendering of the Archduke's offensive jokes, for example, is so hilarious that I listened to it about ten times before moving on. I don't think I could have gotten through this book without the narrator's performance, much less keep the narrative straight.

excellent narration

Classic and funny, it does require intense concentration at times to keep up with the various digressions, but you already know that if its Pynchon you've chosen to read.

An interesting story with lots of visual imagery, however the narration gets in the way of the story

While I can appreciate the skills of the narrator dick hill, his over the top interpretation and narration of the characters in the book constantly takes me out of the story and annoys me.

The book itself has incredible imagery and in itself is a fantastical tale. Unfortunately by the cartoonish characterizations given, I felt like I was listening to a a
37 hours long Looney Tunes cartoon rather than reading a novel.

I can appreciate Mr. Hills verbal adroitness however it seems to be rather tone deaf in regard to the source material.

Needless to say I was unable to complete this book as I just could not take listening to the voice characterizations.

Quite good!

Hill does quite a good job with <i>Against the Day.</i> Easy to follow, nice leisurely pace, and a welcome variety of voices, never overdone, make this an enjoyable listen.

This performance WOW.

This story was amazing. Every Pynchon novel gets amazing service from the narrator. my job is double shift security at a construction lot on a dead end st. there is no such thing (so far) as a book too long, for my ears. it's always down to the narrator. five stars. will listen again.

An absolute epic.

A great performance by Mr. Hill of a truly awe inspiring book. Incredible characters in a fantastical, yet deeply complex and researched alternate history.

Excellent book, but minor quality issues

This is an excellent book, but not for everyone. Some other reviewers pointed out that they couldn't follow it, and, yes, Pynchon is hard to follow. I'm actually listening after reading the book (I read a couple of chapters then listen to the same parts.) With the strange character names, obscure ideas, and many twisted concepts, this is probably not a good choice for something to listen to in the car.

The narrator, however, turns this into a tour de force - his reading is inspired, and his wide variety of voices fits perfectly with the variegated characters.

The only issue I have is with the sound quality of the book. When listening on headphones, there is noticable distortion when the reader's voice gets louder than normal. I don't notice this on speakers, but it does detract slightly from the enjoyment of this book when I listen on my iPod. Also, there are a couple of points where you hear a voice saying "This is the end of CD X." Apparently, the file wasn't perfectly cleaned up when Audible put it up for sale. Finally, there is no cover art attached to the files - no big deal, but another minor quality issue.

Interesting but not for grownups

This is an excellent book in search of an audience that may not exist. The story is well-written and interesting. The narrator, Mr. Hill, performs suitable to the content. The trouble is, it is a book styled for young adults, and will likely leave anyone expecting a sophisticated novel of the turn of the last century leading up to WWI disappointed. Mr. Hill narrates in a breathless, gee-whiz style with multiple broad character voices that fit the story. However, it is a story along the lines of Tom Swift, almost a parody of that genre. Now, I believe the stylistic parody is done intentionally to entertain adults--but it falls short. It is a little too far over the line into juvenalia. The other problem is, as a novel for young adult (primarily boys), it is too learned. The wonderful facility that Thomas Pynchon has for language would leave young readers (other than those who are particularly precocious) overwhelmed and and sadly, not due to the plot line but as a result of the highly advanced linguistic gymnastics, bored.

Great reader, grossly incompetent production

In this rich and complicated book with dozens of central characters trotting over the globe and even through cosmic dimensions, the reader does a fabulous job, expressive where needed, carefully delineating each specific character. The problem is with the production. The chapters are poorly labeled which is no surprise on Audible, but it’s almost criminal that the chapter divisions are completely random: chapters end in mid-chapter (in relation to the book) or mid-paragraph, or even mid-sentence. It’s impossible to cross reference between the print novel and the audiobook and with a book such as this, cross referencing is essential.

An astonishing performance of an ineffable epic!

I seriously want to buy Dick Hill a drink and Thomas Pynchon a Nobel Prize.