Yugi Lloyd wins find-book review competition in June 2011 for his review of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon

11 July 2011

The winner of our Find Book Competition 2011 is Yuji Lloyd for his excellent review of The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. 

 

Little is known about Thomas Pynchon, the author, often referred to as "reclusive" by the media. As Yuji Lloyd points out The Crying of Lot 49 frequently appears on the Top 100 Books of all Time lists. Although he has been writing for more than forty years, Thomas Pynchon cannot be described as a "popular" author but Yuji's review portrays him as an intriguing and addictive writer. Yuji describes The Crying of Lot 49 as an "astounding accomplishment" and a "literary masterpiece", which may persuade many of us to try this remarkable, complex book.

 

 We send our congratulations to Yuji Lloyd for his analytical and informative review for which he will shortly receive his prize of a £50 Amazon voucher. Here is an excerpt from Yuji's winning review.

 
 
The enjoyment that is to be derived from reading Pynchon is the fact that it often takes more than one read through his works to fully grasp exactly what it is that we have read, and even then we find ourselves turning pages back to make sure that we understand where we are in the story. His is a magnificent literary ability that few writers are worthy of comparison to, and more than four decades on, Pynchon is still writing at his best, having recently published a new novel, Inherent Vice, that is nostalgically set just a few years after The Crying of Lot 49, and makes for an incredibly interesting read in relation to his earlier novella, and seeing what has changed over the passing years.

Despite the tenets of postmodernism going against such things as the literary canon, Pynchon has nonetheless been welcomed as an important part of the American literary canon ever since he published his first novel, V., in 1963, and many of his works have appeared on a number of established critics' Top 100 Books of All-Time lists, and The Crying of Lot 49 is certainly one that frequently appears on such lists. If you can brace yourself for a book that will challenge you, and that is all but guaranteed to satisfy your desire to lose yourself within its pages, then Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 is definitely a good choice to read. It will never fail to leave you wondering in which direction it could possibly be going next, right up until its closing words. It is truly an astounding accomplishment, especially from such a young author. It is nothing short of a literary masterpiece.
Thank you to all of you who submitted a review for the June competition. The standard was exceptionally high and we on the find-book team found it quite challenging to choose an overall winner. Please do continue to send in your reviews. Submit them to us by 31 July then we will read them all and choose the winning entry. Next time it could be you. Good Luck.
Some of the books reviewed in June's competition 

The Crying of Lot 49

Thomas Pynchon (Paperback)
From:£7.19

Tell No One

Harlan Coben (Paperback)
From:£3.99

The Hunger Games (Hunger Games Trilogy)

Suzanne Collins (Paperback)
From:£5.99

Night of the Living Trekkies

Kevin Anderson|Sam Stall (Paperback)
From:£14.62

A Clash of Kings: Book 2 of A Song of Ice and Fire

George R. R. Martin (Paperback)
From:£14.25

The Prince Of Mist

Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Hardcover)
From:£13.48