Inherent Vice

De: Thomas Pynchon

Narrado por: Ron McLarty

Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon - Private eye Doc Sportello surfaces, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era.

In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre that is at once exciting and accessible, provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the '60s, you weren't there.

It's been a while since Doc Sportello has seen his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. It's the tail end of the psychedelic '60s in LA, and Doc knows that "love" is another of those words going around at the moment, like "trip" or "groovy", except that this one usually leads to trouble. Undeniably one of the most influential writers at work today, Pynchon has penned another unforgettable book.

©2009 Thomas Pynchon (P)2009 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"What he does, and brilliantly, is open windows onto a universe where we're all in custody, but we're none of us sure who put on the cuffs...entertainment of a high order.” (TIME)

"An enjoyable book by a writer whose work can be daunting.” (John Powers, Fresh Air on NPR)

“With whip-smart, psychedelic-bright language, Pynchon manages to convey the Sixties - except the Sixties were never really like this. This is Pynchon's world, and it's brilliant. The resolution is as crisp as Doc is laid-back. Highly recommended.” (The Library Journal)

It's like the 60's man!

An excellant recreation of a time that's hard to believe unless you lived through it. A good story is told with a great sense of humour!

Great protagonist, Dude!

Surprising that the pothead PI is so timely. Very enjoyable character, who at bottom is a straight arrow while accepting of every kind of person, crook or cop, in his inimitable laid-back weed-softened way.

Ron McLarty is perfect for this book

Love Pynchon. Loved this book. Ron McLarty is the perfect narrator for this book. He makes the characters come alive and really sets the scene/pace. I wish he did more of Pynchon's work (as some of the narrators are rather wretched). If you like Pynchon, then this is a no-brainer. If you don't know who Pynchon is but you do like clever writing with real characters who mess up just as much as you do in your own life--then you need to read this book (or at least have it read to you by the masterful Ron McLarty).

My favorite Pynchon novel rendered beautifully

I've listened to this performance twice now. Ron Mclarty does a wonderful job narrating and singing, bringing Pynchon's zany characters and universe to hazy life.

It's what you can't avoid...

This is probably the single best audiobook I’ve gotten from Audible. The narraration is exceptional, I very much wish this reader would also record Pynchon’s earlier novel Vineland. McLarty’s performance of the songs is all one could ask for, the many characters are distinctly rendered, and he simply breathes the rhythm of the prose. The story itself is Pynchon’s most accessible, relatively short and with an ideal balance of straightforward plotting offset with the characteristic comic digressions that one expects from the author. If you haven’t tried him before, this is a good place to start.

Far out, man!

Yeah, the book may have had too many trippy characters to keep straight, and the storyline was kinda allover the place, but, whatever...what's not to like about a post-60s hippie PI hanging out all over 70s LA, the Valley and up 'n down PCH? It was a most excellent - if not heavy - trip. And, don't believe the reviewers who dissed the narrator's singing...that was the best part of the trip, I really liked. Here's to more adventures with "Doc."

Bizarre, but supposed to be.

I watched the movie first (the opposite of what I typically do). The book explains a lot more and includes lots of side plots omitted from the movie, but it’s soured by ridiculously cheesy jokes that keep coming every chapter. Despite omitting all of this (save one or two lame jokes), the movie retains the “groovy,” goofy vibe the author meant to set. The single narrator does a great job at capturing the different voices of all the characters (and there are a lot), but of course the movie is better at that. So even though the movie will leave you scratching your head even more than the book will, I think I liked it better. Bottom line: go see the movie, then check out the book if you want more. I'm glad I did both.

good good good good good good

can i just say good 15 times? good good good good good good good good

Uhhh…. What?

Too long, too many characters, too Cheech and Chong, too convoluted, too hard to follow, too uhhhh, what????

A classic novel with bad narration.

As others have pointed out the narrator is just terrible. I love the story I’ve read the novel before. I wanted to listen on audible although I still live the book the narration sounded as if it was being done by a Kasey Kasem impersonator. Otherwise I love the stoned noir that plays out.