Inherent Vice

By: Thomas Pynchon

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all Thomas Pynchon - Private eye Doc Sportello surfaces, occasionally, out of a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era.

In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre that is at once exciting and accessible, provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can remember the '60s, you weren't there.

It's been a while since Doc Sportello has seen his ex-girlfriend. Suddenly she shows up with a story about a plot to kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in love with. It's the tail end of the psychedelic '60s in LA, and Doc knows that "love" is another of those words going around at the moment, like "trip" or "groovy", except that this one usually leads to trouble. Undeniably one of the most influential writers at work today, Pynchon has penned another unforgettable book.

©2009 Thomas Pynchon (P)2009 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"What he does, and brilliantly, is open windows onto a universe where we're all in custody, but we're none of us sure who put on the cuffs...entertainment of a high order.” (TIME)

"An enjoyable book by a writer whose work can be daunting.” (John Powers, Fresh Air on NPR)

“With whip-smart, psychedelic-bright language, Pynchon manages to convey the Sixties - except the Sixties were never really like this. This is Pynchon's world, and it's brilliant. The resolution is as crisp as Doc is laid-back. Highly recommended.” (The Library Journal)

Really funny

By far the most accessible of Pynchon's books and really funny. The author has a great ear for the hippy dippy speech of the 70's and the narrator nails it perfectly.

Funny, nostalgic, weird, and dark

I first read this book a few days after it was published. At the time I thought it was a bit too easy to read for a Thomas Pynchon novel. Now I’ve been through it a few times picking up new details with every reread. It just keeps getting better. And listening to Ron McLarty as a Doc Sportello just makes it that much better.

Terrible audio book of a GREAT novel & film

I love this crime fiction novel by Thomas Pynchon, but the audio book is so bad I cannot give it a five star review on Audible.

The narrator takes odd liberties with the characters & the actual verbiage, to a point where I can't help myself from wondering what got in the way of this narrator from making a wonderful audible version of this incredible work fo whodunnit stoner fiction, and how/why did the creators and publishers accept this result?! It's just terrible. His caricature of Tariq Khalil is inaccurate and ignorant; his Doc Sportello is dimensionless and void; his female voices are mostly one note, save for Jade who is made to sound pretentious and ignorant, again inaccurate for either the novel or the movie.

I wonder is this narrator trying add his own subtle interpretations? The characters all strike me as desperately improvised and the reading as a whole is completely disjointed from the five interconnecting plot lines of the actual story. This narrator is incapable of appreciating the intelligence of anyone in the story besides the cops, with whom he imbues an extra amount of hefty force which lands like a thud against the otherwise colorful cast of characters caught in the bog of Gordita Beach. This narrator is caught in a bog someplace very far away from CA in the 70s...

The story doesn't even come through well because the way this guy reads it, the lurking zeitgeist of the whole novel is completely obliterated when the characters such a poor reading with liberties taken by the narrator, further undermining the subtleties of Pynchon.

I am picky for narrators, and this one I do not pick. I am a teacher and I am literally telling you I would rather you start with the film as a true to the novel interpretation, as opposed to the audiobook which may make you hate the entire world of IV.

One favorite part of reading the novel for me were the songs. Pynchon is great at crafting in these song lyrics that may or may not mean anything relative to the plot, characters, or sometimes they're just Macguffins. But in the audiobook, we have to listen to this clown sing the song lyrics every time, void of context, and he drones on through with a fragile, clearly non-singer's voice, and we are subjected to this for whole songs in a few cases. If I hadn't read and seen it on my own first, I would be so heavily annoyed by these renditions that I would return the title on Audible.

TL;DNR: This is my favorite novel and the audiobook is not up to par in my opinion. I highly recommend reading the actual novel and seeing the film if you have the option to do so.

Martin Cruz Smith on acid

I thought it was brilliant and pitch-perfect. But I guess I'm in the minority. Think Martin Cruz Smith's parade of Muscovites, not on vodka, but blue cheer.

loved it and very good

great story and loved the setting and time in which it took place. Doc sportello is probably one of my favorite characters as well as being one of the most annoying and sometimes so duuuuh from being stoned it's frustrating but it never effects the story. at times it's almost as if he's doing a stoner Columbo before Columbo was even a show on tv lol. but I loved the not so chill undertones from doc when Shasta is around despite is hippie all the time vibes. thought Bigfoot was an interesting character, and at the same time you wanna hate him, he knows doc isn't as dumb as he seems despite all he says to the contrary. but a very interesting and well written story that I was a little unsure of buying at first but this is one of those times I tool a chance and was rewarded with a great piece of material. loved the story, thought the performance and overall way the narrator tells the story and speaks as the characters was great too. definitely highly recommend this one.

It's like the 60's man!

An excellant recreation of a time that's hard to believe unless you lived through it. A good story is told with a great sense of humour!

Great protagonist, Dude!

Surprising that the pothead PI is so timely. Very enjoyable character, who at bottom is a straight arrow while accepting of every kind of person, crook or cop, in his inimitable laid-back weed-softened way.

Ron McLarty is perfect for this book

Love Pynchon. Loved this book. Ron McLarty is the perfect narrator for this book. He makes the characters come alive and really sets the scene/pace. I wish he did more of Pynchon's work (as some of the narrators are rather wretched). If you like Pynchon, then this is a no-brainer. If you don't know who Pynchon is but you do like clever writing with real characters who mess up just as much as you do in your own life--then you need to read this book (or at least have it read to you by the masterful Ron McLarty).

My favorite Pynchon novel rendered beautifully

I've listened to this performance twice now. Ron Mclarty does a wonderful job narrating and singing, bringing Pynchon's zany characters and universe to hazy life.

Great, despite a slow start

This is a great book; would love to read it now that I have listened to it. A word of warning, however: the beginning is slow and it takes a little while to get into it. But have patience! It is well worth it.