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The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Pynchon
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 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.
212 pages, Paperback
First published December 15, 2011
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321 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
September 11, 2017
Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIs5L...
(Wooo, the video review came more than a year after the written one below, and is somewhat less starry-eyed. The main point remains - it's an excellent book if you can read it for free).
If you can get your hands on one of these, by all means do. A concise and well-planned guide to Pynchon's main themes and dynamics, and a great starting point for any close reading of his novels up to Inherent Vice. There's also a few biographical nuggets in here, and a brilliant coda on "How to Read Pynchon," which makes this as entertaining a reading as a critical companion can get.
(Wooo, the video review came more than a year after the written one below, and is somewhat less starry-eyed. The main point remains - it's an excellent book if you can read it for free).
If you can get your hands on one of these, by all means do. A concise and well-planned guide to Pynchon's main themes and dynamics, and a great starting point for any close reading of his novels up to Inherent Vice. There's also a few biographical nuggets in here, and a brilliant coda on "How to Read Pynchon," which makes this as entertaining a reading as a critical companion can get.
December 20, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half, with each extant novel being afforded an essay. Particularly meaningful was the Steven Weissenberger analysis of Gravity’s Rainbow.
The second half was a slog. Each piece on a theme or trend linked to Pynchon. Each suffered from terminal academic writing. It was bad.
The second half was a slog. Each piece on a theme or trend linked to Pynchon. Each suffered from terminal academic writing. It was bad.
August 12, 2013
Worlds Apart: A Review of The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Pynchon, or Rayroy ( Ives LeSparks, Con McVeety) Shares Some of His Brain.
I’m listening to psychedelic surf music because it’s one of my theories that while Thomas Pynchon lived in Manhattan Beach California and wrote he listened to bands like the Chanteys and the Ventures I believe through no logic but my own that by listing to it I will make better connections , certainly one only has to read one of Pynchon’s California novels (the Crying of Lot 49, Vineland, or Inherent Vice) to understand my theory, and certainly the “The Companion…” brought to light connections I didn’t see or wasn’t taught how to see being that I am in no way part of the world of Academia, for you see not only does Pynchon have a strong readership among the students of Academia he has a strong readership among those outside the world of Academia a cult fallowing of people whom work for a living, I fall into this second group, This book explains Pynchon’s novels and the many themes from thermodynamics to too many to list for now, the way say a college professor would in a major lit class, that is it takes some of the wonder of not knowing away but since this is Thomas Pynchon here always there will be the not knowing, it may be why Thomas Pynchon has chosen to remain unphotographed and why he’s never done interviews cause he knows the real readers only need his novels to read and read again and can live and get through one (all) of his books just fine, without his help via interviews and such, plus as the Companion… shows that by basically disappearing from the camera (which is hard! today cameras are fucking everywhere, man, they know all about soon as you log on to the internet, ) Thomas Pynchon in a way gives his readers a greater freedom of interpretation and reading, for Pynchon maybe the only 1960’s rebel to actually ‘Tune On, Tune In and Drop Out’, and stay that way. This companion reveals a lot of themes and understanding of Thomas Pynchon work, but I almost prefer to have things unknown and unexplained and hold on to my own thoughts for as complex and rich as Thomas Pynchon’s work , for as much of it that can be studied the real greatness is how Thomas Pynchon puts words down on to paper they become something greater , more meaningful then most texts I’ve yet come across yet I feel like Benny Profane (V.) in the in end it’s like I learned nothing and I ‘m right back to where I started but what a ride whether it’s on an Airship (Against The Day), through a pie fight high up in the clouds (Gravity’s Rainbow), it’s one I look forward to taking again and again.
I’m listening to psychedelic surf music because it’s one of my theories that while Thomas Pynchon lived in Manhattan Beach California and wrote he listened to bands like the Chanteys and the Ventures I believe through no logic but my own that by listing to it I will make better connections , certainly one only has to read one of Pynchon’s California novels (the Crying of Lot 49, Vineland, or Inherent Vice) to understand my theory, and certainly the “The Companion…” brought to light connections I didn’t see or wasn’t taught how to see being that I am in no way part of the world of Academia, for you see not only does Pynchon have a strong readership among the students of Academia he has a strong readership among those outside the world of Academia a cult fallowing of people whom work for a living, I fall into this second group, This book explains Pynchon’s novels and the many themes from thermodynamics to too many to list for now, the way say a college professor would in a major lit class, that is it takes some of the wonder of not knowing away but since this is Thomas Pynchon here always there will be the not knowing, it may be why Thomas Pynchon has chosen to remain unphotographed and why he’s never done interviews cause he knows the real readers only need his novels to read and read again and can live and get through one (all) of his books just fine, without his help via interviews and such, plus as the Companion… shows that by basically disappearing from the camera (which is hard! today cameras are fucking everywhere, man, they know all about soon as you log on to the internet, ) Thomas Pynchon in a way gives his readers a greater freedom of interpretation and reading, for Pynchon maybe the only 1960’s rebel to actually ‘Tune On, Tune In and Drop Out’, and stay that way. This companion reveals a lot of themes and understanding of Thomas Pynchon work, but I almost prefer to have things unknown and unexplained and hold on to my own thoughts for as complex and rich as Thomas Pynchon’s work , for as much of it that can be studied the real greatness is how Thomas Pynchon puts words down on to paper they become something greater , more meaningful then most texts I’ve yet come across yet I feel like Benny Profane (V.) in the in end it’s like I learned nothing and I ‘m right back to where I started but what a ride whether it’s on an Airship (Against The Day), through a pie fight high up in the clouds (Gravity’s Rainbow), it’s one I look forward to taking again and again.
November 20, 2021
общий вывод - к 2012 году ничего нового или принципиально иного пинчоноведы о любимом авторе сказать не могут, хотя подходы кодифицировались, устоялись и, в целом, стали несколько взвешеннее и спокойнее. но это неплохой школьный учебник пинчона - автор объясняется нам с большинства сторон вполне внятно и доходчиво, но, понятно, далеко не исчерпывающе. вплоть до финальной главы ханьо беррессема с обманчивым названием "как читать пинчона", где исследователь пускается в общие рассуждения скорее о природе человеческого восприятия, познания и выживания вообще. а как _читать пинчона_, гад, не объясняет...
* * *
В любом случае чтение - а порой и перечитывание - книжек и статей по пинчоноведению полезно, как бы много пустословия в них ни содержалось (хотя и не так полезно, как чтение книжек самого Пинчона). Хотя бы потому, что при этом пересобираются точки сборки, простите за банальность, и пусть даже знаешь исходный материал на ять, нет-нет да и взглянешь на него как-нибудь иначе. Ну и маргиналии чудесные попадаются.
Поэтому вот тут я решил перечитать статью о романе в работе, а заодно - и горсть статей из разных изданий. Пусть пользу голове принесут, хотя степень владения материалом у всех авторов разная, некоторые понимают написанное у Пинчона с точностью до наоборот даже в фактуре. Однако совсем уж пустословия, как у многих русских их коллег, в написанном за эти годы нет. Но вот статью Ричарда Хардэка о нарратологии у Пинчона в "Контражуре" я б, наверное, даже перевел в какой-то момент, уж очень она полезная. Зато статья о тантре в романе, несмотря на свою многообещаемость, оказалась чепуховой (да и понимание тантры у автора оставляет желать лучшего - в голове у него каша вообще из всей восточной философии, которой он изо всех сил пытается обмазать роман, который, со всей очевидностью, далеко не только и не столько буддийский, как этого бы хотелось автору статьи, - и уж совершенно не "тантрический").
* * *
В любом случае чтение - а порой и перечитывание - книжек и статей по пинчоноведению полезно, как бы много пустословия в них ни содержалось (хотя и не так полезно, как чтение книжек самого Пинчона). Хотя бы потому, что при этом пересобираются точки сборки, простите за банальность, и пусть даже знаешь исходный материал на ять, нет-нет да и взглянешь на него как-нибудь иначе. Ну и маргиналии чудесные попадаются.
Поэтому вот тут я решил перечитать статью о романе в работе, а заодно - и горсть статей из разных изданий. Пусть пользу голове принесут, хотя степень владения материалом у всех авторов разная, некоторые понимают написанное у Пинчона с точностью до наоборот даже в фактуре. Однако совсем уж пустословия, как у многих русских их коллег, в написанном за эти годы нет. Но вот статью Ричарда Хардэка о нарратологии у Пинчона в "Контражуре" я б, наверное, даже перевел в какой-то момент, уж очень она полезная. Зато статья о тантре в романе, несмотря на свою многообещаемость, оказалась чепуховой (да и понимание тантры у автора оставляет желать лучшего - в голове у него каша вообще из всей восточной философии, которой он изо всех сил пытается обмазать роман, который, со всей очевидностью, далеко не только и не столько буддийский, как этого бы хотелось автору статьи, - и уж совершенно не "тантрический").
June 20, 2013
This is a good reminder of why we should read Pynchon even when the going gets tough. While I'm sure it's possible to quibble with the details of some of these essays and to accuse them of superficiality, if it gets me to pick up another Pynchon novel, it's worthwhile.
September 15, 2013
Good. The essay 'Coda: How to read Pynchon' is good, as are the essays each on Pynchon's novels ('The Canon') (How ironic to force Pynchon's 'counter-culture' values into a rubric as orthodox as 'Canon'. Rather surprising this. Frankly They could have had 'His Canon' which would tie in with postmodern ideas of individuality and stuff, as well as being maybe a reference to Pynchonian technique: the throwaway referencing of High culture in low places. But anyway.)
The remainder of the book, grouped under 'Poetics' and 'Issues' were less interesting for me, being chock full of trendy professors using trendy jargon. The worst offender here was Wendy Elias' essay on 'History' where she (correctly) asserts that Pynchon recognises that history is 'polyvocal' then repeats the word polyvocal about fifteen times per page. Her idea that TP is something of a historiographer is cute though.
Good overall, as all Camb-Comps are. Useful bibliography and references, and each contributor (as with most Camb-Comps) has interesting things to say on ones's favourite subject(s). Definitely recommended for fans of TP, but be prepared for aforementioned trendy jargon in latter essays.
The remainder of the book, grouped under 'Poetics' and 'Issues' were less interesting for me, being chock full of trendy professors using trendy jargon. The worst offender here was Wendy Elias' essay on 'History' where she (correctly) asserts that Pynchon recognises that history is 'polyvocal' then repeats the word polyvocal about fifteen times per page. Her idea that TP is something of a historiographer is cute though.
Good overall, as all Camb-Comps are. Useful bibliography and references, and each contributor (as with most Camb-Comps) has interesting things to say on ones's favourite subject(s). Definitely recommended for fans of TP, but be prepared for aforementioned trendy jargon in latter essays.
June 2, 2017
An excellent, accessible collection of essays. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a better grasp of Pynchon's major themes and concerns.
December 29, 2021
Because I read several books that are not properly "read" in the sense of reading every single page I am now (more for me than for you) designating these books with the review "KR" (Kinda Read).
KR (read most of the essays in here but not the ones which primarily concern Against the Day and/or Vineland, because I haven't read any of them yet)
KR (read most of the essays in here but not the ones which primarily concern Against the Day and/or Vineland, because I haven't read any of them yet)
September 6, 2017
I dig these companions
June 17, 2022
For anyone making their way downtown.
December 22, 2014
Experience is never limited and it is never complete; it is an immense sensibility, a kind of huge spider-web, of the finest silken threads suspended in the chamber of consciousness and catching every air-borne particle in its tissue. It is the very atmosphere of the mind; and when the mind is imaginative … it takes to itself the faintest hints of life, it converts the very pulses of the air into revelations.
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June 6, 2012Pynchon, Thomas -- Interpretacije i kritike
May 6, 2013
Valeu a pena ler se você deseja se aprofundar nas temáticas que estão na obra de Pynchon. História, política, intertextualidade e cultura são alguns dos temas explorados pelo companion.
January 11, 2015
Most of these essays are quite good, and there's enough continuity to make the collection work.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews