Gravity's Rainbow
Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchonby Thomas Pynchon
Shares rank 109 of 122 novels by recommenders
Few readers recommend it, and the quotes mainly link it to Nabokov's work. One critic found its characters and plot lines annoying or disgusting.
Few readers recommend it, and the quotes mainly link it to Nabokov's work. One critic found its characters and plot lines annoying or disgusting.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 2
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 2 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Linked to Nabokov's Sebastian Knight
“Gravity's Rainbow by Nabokov's student at Cornell who in a previous work "borrowed" Nabokov's Sebastian Knight”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “Nabokov's pale fire: the lost 'father of all hypertext demos'? (2011)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Characters and plot lines annoyed or disgusted
“a lot of the characters and plot lines just annoyed or disgusted me”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Gravity's Rainbowby Thomas PynchonThis page | 2 | 1 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
2 of the 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a lot of the characters and plot lines just annoyed or disgusted me”
“Gravity's Rainbow by Nabokov's student at Cornell who in a previous work "borrowed" Nabokov's Sebastian Knight”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.