A Companion to V.To the uninitiated, Thomas Pynchon’s V. seems to defy comprehension with its open-ended and fragmented narrative, huge cast of characters (some 150 of them), and wide range of often obscure references. J. Kerry Grant’s Companion to “V.” takes us through the novel chapter by chapter, breaking through its daunting surface by summarizing events and clarifying Pynchon’s many allusions. The Companion draws extensively from existing critical and explicative work on V. to suggest the range of interpretations that the novel can support. The hundreds of notes that comprise the Companion are keyed to the three most widely cited editions of V. Most notes are interpretive, but some also provide historical and cultural contexts or help to resurrect other nuances of meaning. Because it does not constitute a particular “reading” of, or “take” on, the novel, the Companion will appeal to a wide range of users. Rather than attempting to make final sense of the novel, the Companion exposes and demystifies Pynchon’s intent to play with our conventional attitudes about fiction. |
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Common terms and phrases
Africa allusion association Bad Priest Baedeker Benny Benny Profane Berressem Birth of Venus Bongo-Shaftsbury Britannica Online British Cassola century chapter character chon's claim connection Cooley Cowart death dream Dugdale echo Eddins Eigenvalue Eigenvalue's Esther Evan Godolphin fact Fashoda Fashoda incident Fausto Maijstral fiction finds Flanders Fields Florence Foppl's forces French Gaucho German goddess Godolphin Goodfellow Heart of Darkness Henry Adams Herero Herero genocide Hite hothouse human identifies inanimate Inglott Italian Karl Baedeker Kharpertian literally Madsen Malta Maltese Mantissa Matthijs McClintic Sphere McHoul means Mélanie ment metaphor Mondaugen's Mondaugen's story narrative novel Paola parody party Pig Bodine political Porpentine Porpentine's presumably Profane Profane's Pynchon Notes reader reference reminder Schoenmaker seems sense sewer sexual Sidney Stencil's Sidney's siege Slade South Stencil Stencil's quest street suggests surface symbol Tanner Thomas Pynchon tion tourists twentieth Valletta Vheissu Victoria Wren vision Whole Sick Crew yo-yo