VinelandVineland
Score Modern
What it's about
In an Orwellian 1984, in Vineland, a northern California refuge of hippiedom, Zoyd Wheeler and his daughter Prairie search for her long-lost mother, a Sixties radical who ran off with a narc.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It's vintage Pynchon, full of quasi-allegorical characters, corny songs and movie spoofs.
You'll love it if you liked
Gravity's Rainbow
Infinite Jest
A Confederacy of DuncesGood to know
It's digressive, with elaborate subplots left unresolved.
By the numbers
- Readers28 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller20 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #259 of the 333 science fiction books we rank
- #1364 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2574 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Thought-provoking, Adventurous
More by Thomas Pynchon
If you like this, read next
A Deepness in the Sky
Parable of the Sower
Blindness
Good Omens
The Giver
Doomsday BookExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 ranked
Modern booksTop 25 · 1,647 ranked
Books of the 1990sTop 25 · 305 ranked
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedQuick answers
Is Vineland worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,574 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 59.6 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Vineland about?
In an Orwellian 1984, in Vineland, a northern California refuge of hippiedom, Zoyd Wheeler and his daughter Prairie search for her long-lost mother, a Sixties radical who ran off with a narc.
How long does it take to read Vineland?
About 10 hours (385 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Vineland?
If you liked it, try Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace or A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.