Gravity's Encyclopedia Revisited: The Illusion of a Totalizing System in Gravity's Rainbow

An examination of the concept of the encyclopedic novel, first popularized by Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow, is presented by re-examining Pynchon's classic work. Some critics assert that the popular definition of the encyclopedic novel is unsuitable for American literature,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:English studies 2009-04, Vol.90 (2), p.167-179
Main Authors: Herman, Luc, van Ewijk, Petrus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American literature
Definitions
Literary criticism
Novels
Pynchon, Thomas
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Summary:An examination of the concept of the encyclopedic novel, first popularized by Thomas Pynchon's novel Gravity's Rainbow, is presented by re-examining Pynchon's classic work. Some critics assert that the popular definition of the encyclopedic novel is unsuitable for American literature, in which the tension between totality and fragmentation is a key theme.
ISSN:0013-838X
1744-4217
DOI:10.1080/00138380902743203