
Richard Farina evokes the Sixties as precisely, wittily, and poignantly as F. Scott Fitzgerald captured the Jazz Age. The hero, Gnossos Pappadopoulis, weaves his way through the psychedelic landscape, encountering - among other things - mescaline, women, art, gluttony, falsehood, science, prayer, and, occasionally, truth. A portrait of an explosive decade, sparkling with inventive writing and conveying the essence of a generation, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, as Thomas Pynchon writes in the introduction, "comes on like the Hallelujah Chorus done by 200 kazoo players with perfect pitch."
Gnossos Pappadopoulis navigates the chaotic, shifting social landscape of the early 1960s, attempting to maintain his personal autonomy amidst a culture of artifice and institutional control. Returning to his university after a period of travel, Gnossos encounters a series of surreal and often absurd situations that challenge his cynical worldview. He moves through academic environments, drug-fueled social circles, and romantic entanglements, constantly testing the boundaries of his own identity. The narrative utilizes a picaresque structure, following the protagonist as he drifts between various subcultures and encounters figures who represent the conflicting ideologies of the era. The prose maintains a frenetic, rhythmic quality that mirrors the instability of the period.
Readers and critics frequently identify this work as a definitive artifact of the 1960s, often comparing its cultural impact to the works of the Beat generation. Discussion often centers on the protagonist's detached, ironic persona and how his cynicism reflects the broader disillusionment of his generation. Many reviewers highlight the inventive, musical quality of the prose, which captures the frantic energy of the era's social shifts. While some readers find the episodic pacing challenging, others appreciate how the fragmented structure mirrors the chaotic nature of the protagonist's experiences. The book remains a subject of interest for those examining the intersection of literature and the counterculture movement.
Page Count:
329
Publication Date:
1983-01-01
Publisher:
Viking Pr
ISBN-10:
0140065369
ISBN-13:
9780140065367
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!