Thomas Pynchon (Contemporary writers)

Tony Tanner provides a brief, comprehensive introduction to his work. Against the background of Pynchon the man, this book, originally published in 1982, examines in detail his early short stories and offers a guide to the reading of his novels, V., The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity’s Rainbow. Against the background of Pynchon the man, this book examines in detail his early short stories (some of which are not easily accessible) and offers a guide to the reading of his novels V, The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow. Many of Pynchon's recurrent themes, from entropy and information theory to his interest in the operations and divisions of power in the world since the Second World War, are considered. Finally, Tanner places Pynchon and his work in a broader cultural and literary context Examines the American authors short stories and novels and discusses his place in modern literature