Pynchon and Mason & Dixon

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly useful
Review: As anyone that reads Pynchon novels can tell you, trying to get at all of the different potential readings of his novels can be downright difficult. If you snooze your way through a couple pages, you invariably are going to miss some of the sub-plots, or even keys to one of the on-going plots. Every novel of his that I finish, makes me realize that I need to go back and read with a different eye towards the actions and events of the text. To me, this is the mark of a great artist - enjoyable and rewarding every time, with something new to offer upon each successive return.

This companion collection of literary criticism regarding "Mason and Dixon", with contributions by some of the preeminent scholars on Pynchon, doubtless increased my enjoyment of the book several-fold on my first time through it. For that, even given the steep price, I have to heartily recommend this title. Since the novel itself takes over much of your life for an extended period of time, you may as well assign an appropriate level of importance to it and go for the highest level of comprehension that you can.

I know with absolute certainy that when I go back for a second read of "Mason & Dixon," that this book will be my map towards a more detailed reading.

Here are a list of the papers included:

"Foreshadowing the Text," Irving Malin

"Mason & Dixon in the Zone, or, A Brief Poetics of Pynchon-Space," Brian McHale

"'Cranks of Ev'ry Radius': Romancing the Line in 'Mason & Dixon'," Arthur Saltzman

"Thomas Pynchon and the Fault Lines of America," Donald J. Greiner

"Mapping the Course of Empire in the New World," David Seed

"Dimming the Enlightenment: Thomas Pynchon's 'Mason & Dixon'," Victor Strandberg

"The Sound of One Man Mapping: Wicks Cherrycoke and the Eastern (Re)solution," Joseph Dewey

"Reading at the 'Crease of Credulity'," Bernard Duyfhuizen

"Historical Documents Relating to 'Mason & Dixon'," David Foreman

"Plucking the American Albatross: Pynchon's Irrealism in 'Mason & Dixon'," Jeff Baker

"Plot, Ideology, and Compassion in 'Mason & Dixon'," Thomas H. Schaub

"'Mason & Dixon' Bibliography," Clifford S. Mead