Fallback Fiction – The books we never, ever tire of reading

Slow Learner by Thomas Pynchon

This collection of stories, released in 1984 but first published between 1959 and 1964, represents the first – and what is probably the worst – fiction Pynchon ever wrote. But I always find myself coming back to it because of the sheer excitement of his early work, and the freedom of his prose as he reached out to find a new voice for postmodern art. Pound for pound, Pynchon might be the greatest of all time, and I’ll never get tired of reading his roots.

 ~Samuel Spokony