The Crying of Lot 49

This is the first work of Thomas Pynchon’s that I have read.  I’m not sure whether I haven’t adapted to his style, or if it really is just that convoluted.  Perhaps both.  On the back of the book, it mentions that Oedipa finds herself “enmeshed in a worldwide conspiracy.”  Knowing that, I can see pieces of the conspiracy puzzle from her interactions with the people she has met concerning Pierce Inverarity and his estate.  However, had I not read the blurb on the back cover, I would probably have no idea what was going on.  I am going to try and reserve judgment until I complete the book, and I’m not necessarily hating it; I’m just confused.  One minute Oedipa gets this call from Pierce, and the next minute he’s dead, and there’s something about a stamp collection, and then she’s obliterated drunk with Metzger, and she’s putting on every piece of clothing she owns.  Somehow this is sexually appealing to Metzger and they have sex in a puddle of hair spray.  The characters are certainly unusual.  Mucho is my favorite because he is kind of uptight and perpetually in a state of dissatisfaction, which I found amusing.  To be honest though, at this point, I really don’t care about the characters.  Maybe it’s because I’m confused but if I wasn’t reading this for class I would probably quit reading.  I probably would have quit reading ten or fifteen pages ago.  A worldwide conspiracy is an interesting topic, but if it’s ridiculously convoluted the whole way through (with little other purpose than being funny, it seems) why would I keep reading if I don’t care who the characters are or what happens to them?