Pynchon paints vivid pictures of the characters, but they are all flawed, somehow. Oedipa is married to a disc jockey junkie, Dr. Hilarius is a psycho afraid of Nazi retribution, the Paranoids really are paranoid, Metzger disappears, and Pierce Inverarity is a dead jokester who may be having the last laugh on Oedipa. The characters, like society, are flawed, and Pynchon portrays them with warped emotions and values as a caustic commentary on modern society in general. In addition, their values and emotions are questionable, as well. Many are detached even from themselves, and others, like Oedipa; seem to read far too much into many situations.
In conclusion, these works are the epitome of postmodernist literature. Convoluted, contrary, inner conscious and full of imagery and social...
Pynchon's style is often difficult to read and comprehend, and more than one reading may be necessary to capture all the nuance and symbolism he brings to his writing. Barthes commentary helps bring postmodernism (and literature in general) into clearer focus, but ultimately, this book has so many different commentaries and meanings, it is difficult to know exactly what the author was really attempting to do, and that may be exactly how he wanted it to be.
References
Barthes, Roland. "The Death of the Author." North Carolina State University. 2007. 5 March 2007. http://social.chass.ncsu.edu/wyrick/debclass/whatis.htm
Pynchon, Thomas. The Crying of Lot 49. New York: Perennial Classics, 1999.
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