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The story begins with Dennis Flange, a Long-Island attorney and ex-Navy communications officer, entertaining his friend and garbage man, Rocco Squarcione. As the two drink Rocco's home-made muscatel and listen to Vivaldi, they are suddenly dropped in on by one of Flange's old Navy friends, Pig Bodine. Unfortunately, his unexpected visit is not at all appreciated by Dennis' wife of seven years, Cindy -- Bodine was responsible for carting her husband off during their wedding reception and taking him on a two-month drinking spree that landed Flange in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, completely broke. Already angered by Rocco's presence in her house, the sight of Pig sends Cindy into a state of fury and she promptly commands the trio to leave and never come back. Kicked out of the house and without even a change of clothes, Flange ponders his situation when Rocco mentions that a friend of his by the name of Bolingbroke is a watchman at the local garbage dump and would be able to put both Dennis and Pig up for the night. After Rocco leaves the two with Boligbroke, the watchman and his guests grab two extra mattresses and retreat into his shack-like home in the middle of the dump. There, they drink home-made wine and tell sea-stories until they fall asleep.
In the middle of the night, however, Flange is awakened by a girl's voice urging him to come outside. After a moment of indecision, he ventures out to find whoever is calling him, and discovers that the voice belongs to a beautiful, three and a half foot tall gypsy by the name of Nerissa. After introducing herself, she leads the bewildered Flange into the piles of garbage, through a door made from a discarded refrigerator, and into a network of underground tunnels that eventually leads to her surprisingly elaborate room. There, Nerissa introduces Flange to her pet rat Hyacinth and explains to him that a fortune-teller had told her that she would marry a tall, blonde, Anglo-Saxon man with strong arms. As Dennis fits the description, she asks him to stay with her, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he agrees.
In the middle of the night, however, Flange is awakened by a girl's voice urging him to come outside. After a moment of indecision, he ventures out to find whoever is calling him, and discovers that the voice belongs to a beautiful, three and a half foot tall gypsy by the name of Nerissa. After introducing herself, she leads the bewildered Flange into the piles of garbage, through a door made from a discarded refrigerator, and into a network of underground tunnels that eventually leads to her surprisingly elaborate room. There, Nerissa introduces Flange to her pet rat Hyacinth and explains to him that a fortune-teller had told her that she would marry a tall, blonde, Anglo-Saxon man with strong arms. As Dennis fits the description, she asks him to stay with her, and after a brief moment of contemplation, he agrees.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1960
475 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Pynchon
48 books8,003 followersThomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and nonfiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, science, and mathematics. For Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon won the 1973 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.
Hailing from Long Island, Pynchon served two years in the United States Navy and earned an English degree from Cornell University. After publishing several short stories in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began composing the novels for which he is best known: V. (1963), The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), and Gravity's Rainbow (1973). Rumors of a historical novel about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon had circulated as early as the 1980s; the novel, Mason & Dixon, was published in 1997 to critical acclaim. His 2009 novel Inherent Vice was adapted into a feature film by Paul Thomas Anderson in 2014. Pynchon is notoriously reclusive from the media; few photographs of him have been published, and rumors about his location and identity have circulated since the 1960s. Pynchon's most recent novel, Bleeding Edge, was published on September 17, 2013.
Hailing from Long Island, Pynchon served two years in the United States Navy and earned an English degree from Cornell University. After publishing several short stories in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began composing the novels for which he is best known: V. (1963), The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), and Gravity's Rainbow (1973). Rumors of a historical novel about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon had circulated as early as the 1980s; the novel, Mason & Dixon, was published in 1997 to critical acclaim. His 2009 novel Inherent Vice was adapted into a feature film by Paul Thomas Anderson in 2014. Pynchon is notoriously reclusive from the media; few photographs of him have been published, and rumors about his location and identity have circulated since the 1960s. Pynchon's most recent novel, Bleeding Edge, was published on September 17, 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 27, 2023
Absolutely, wonderfully nuts. Perfect entry-level Pynchon.
July 17, 2019
Whitecaps danced across her eyes; sea creatures, he knew
May 29, 2009
"Whitecaps danced across her eyes; sea creatures, he knew, would be cruising about in the submarine green of her heart."
June 24, 2020
that's richard mock on the cover!!
May 13, 2025
Besides his analyst Flange had only one other consolation: the sea.
A pretty good introduction for Pig Bodine and a good story in its own right, with a magical feeling around the ending that I quite like. I especially liked the sea-tales.
A pretty good introduction for Pig Bodine and a good story in its own right, with a magical feeling around the ending that I quite like. I especially liked the sea-tales.
Want to read
January 7, 2011¿Un libro de Pynchon de treinta páginas? Qué cosa rara. Supongo que quedará como to-read aunque no esté en castellano, pero andá a saber cuándo lo leo.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews