Jack, don't pay attention to the New York Times. Those guys don't know anything about books.
As to trippy and stoned, the entire country has been stoned for decades, so in fact Tom Pynchon writes realistically as regards the substance. While the stonedness or stoneity of Pynchon's characters is shown directly, the condition, more or less permanent, it looks like, takes different forms in Midol America, whatever that is. For example, in surrealistic talk of "economic recovery", "restoring the credit markets" and other outrageous bullshit one hears, including "hope and change". Pynchon's characters know that you can't get something for nothing -- in that respect, they are ahead of much of the population. The characters may be dumb, but they ain't stupid!
My opinion, anyway. I don't think you can read Pynchon without being in full irony mode. In that context, there is no paranoia, just realism.
mrt
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