Thomas Pynchon, The Crying of Lot 49

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While Thomas Pynchon’s second and arguably most accessible novel thematically “singl[es] up all lines” (

Crying

20) with the overarching leitmotifs of his oeuvre, it really stands as the odd one out in terms of length. With its roughly 130–180 pages (depending on edition),

The Crying of Lot 49

might appear as a relapse towards the brevity of Pynchon’s first work, the short stories later published in

Slow Learner.

Particularly when compared to his other major works,

V.

,

Gravity’s Rainbow

,

Mason & Dixon

and

Against the Day,

which tend to incorporate a plethora of such micronarratives and knot them into a byzantine tapestry,

The Crying of Lot 49

at first sight seems to avoid polyphonous voices and prefers linearity and order.

Published in 1966, The Crying of Lot 49 won the Richard

3462 words

Citation: Huber, Sebastian. "The Crying of Lot 49". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 09 December 2010 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1139, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1139 The Crying of Lot 49 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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