The Cambridge companion to Thomas Pynchon
By: [edited by] Inger H. Dalsgaard, Luc Herman, Brian McHale
Series: Cambridge companions to literature
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2011
Place of publication: Cambridge; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9780521769747; 9780521173049
Subjects: LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General; Criticism and interpretation
Description: "The most celebrated American novelist of the past half-century, an indispensable figure of postmodernism worldwide, Thomas Pynchon notoriously challenges his readers. This Companion provides tools for meeting that challenge. Comprehensive, accessible, lively, up-to-date and reliable, it approaches Pynchon's fiction from various angles, calling on the expertise of an international roster of scholars at the cutting edge of Pynchon studies. Part I covers Pynchon's fiction novel-by-novel from the 1960s to the present, including such indisputable classics as The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow. Part II zooms out to give a bird's-eye-view of Pynchon's novelistic practice across his entire career. Part III surveys major topics of Pynchon's fiction: history, politics, alterity ('otherness') and science and technology. Designed for students, scholars and fans alike, the Companion begins with a biography of the elusive author and ends with a coda on how to read Pynchon and a bibliography for further reading"--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: Introduction Inger H. Dalsgaard, Luc Herman and Brian McHale; Biographical note John M. Kraft; Part I. Canon: 1. Early Pynchon Luc Herman; 2. The Crying of Lot 49 and other California novels Thomas Hill Schaub; 3. Gravity's Rainbow Steven Weisenburger; 4. Mason and Dixon Kathryn Hume; 5. Against the Day Bernard Duyfhuizen; Part II. Poetics: 6. Pynchon in literary history David Cowart; 7. Pynchon's postmodernism Brian McHale; 8. Pynchon's intertexts David Seed; Part III. Issues: 9. History Amy J. Elias; 10. Politics Jeff Baker; 11. Alterity Deborah Madsen; 12. Science and technology Inger H. Dalsgaard; Coda: how to read Pynchon Hanjo Berressem.