I'm sure you all have noticed this but there seems to be a recurring master and servant motif throughout GR. Blicero and Gottfried, Domina Nocturna and Pudding, Etzel Olsch and his Gnome workers etc...

But these motifs are more than just master and servant. In each instance, the master is very twisted if not outright mentally insane. First and foremost, crazy masters isn't a precondition to having a master and servant relationship. Dominating relationships can be benevolent (Aladdin and Genie... yeah i couldn't think of a better one at this hour), or harsh like the black slaves and their southern masters. But in either case, the masters didn't necessarily have to be insane or twisted (although you might feel inclined to say a slave owner is indeed twisted, let's assume that something more is required to become so mentally defiled). In two cases, the master displays a certain sexual depravity while in the case of Olsch, he demonstrates a certain egotism and aloofness, as if oblivious to reality.

Dear God what an insane book! Gravity's Rainbow really bends your mind. Its tendency to fuse the paranormal with the simply outrageous creates the illusion of a never ending dream, where waking up, is not really waking up. Despite having never read anything quite like this however, the part that stood out to me the most, was not the imagery, characters or just the insanity of it all, but rather the descriptions of taste.

The scene where Slothrop goes to Mrs. Quoad's house with Darlene is really one of a kind for me. It is here Pychon's humor ("Show a little backbone" (120)) and descriptive ability really shines. ".. an enormous bonbon chomp through the mantle of chocolate to a strong eucalyptus-flavored fondant, finally into a core of some very tough grape gum Arabic" (119). Eucalyptus flavored! I have never tasted a eucalyptus tree and yet I feel as if I have and this eclectic mix of ingredients is sitting right in my mouth as I read. So many books can go heavy on the visuals, but only a few will ever approach the subject of taste like Gravity's Rainbow does.