The Crying of Lot 49 - (Perennial Classics) by Thomas Pynchon (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: Philadelphia, Pa.: J.B. Lippincott, 1965.

Book Synopsis

"A puzzle, an intrigue, a literary and historical tour de force." -- San Francisco Examiner

The Crying of Lot 49 is Thomas Pynchon's highly original classic satire of modern America, about Oedipa Maas, a woman who finds herself enmeshed in what would appear to be an international conspiracy.

When her ex-lover, wealthy real-estate tycoon Pierce Inverarity, dies and designates her the coexecutor of his estate, California housewife Oedipa Maas is thrust into a paranoid mystery of metaphors, symbols, and the United States Postal Service. Traveling across Southern California, she meets some extremely interesting characters, and attains a not inconsiderable amount of self-knowledge.

From the Back Cover

The highly original satire about Oedipa Maas, a woman who finds herself enmeshed in a worldwide conspiracy, meets some extremely interesting characters, and attains a not inconsiderable amount of self knowledge.

Review Quotes

"A puzzle, an intrigue, a literary and historical tour de force." -- San Francisco Examiner

"The comedy crackles, the puns pop, the satire explodes." -- New York Times

"Mr. Pynchon's satirical eye doesn't miss a thing, including rock n' roll singers right wing extremists, and the general subculture of Southern California." -- Library Journal

"[A] spectacular tale. . . . The work of a virtuoso with prose. . . . His intricate symbolic order is akin to that of Joyce's Ulysses." -- Chicago Tribune

"Pynchon is again whispering something in our ear about the meaning of coincidence, the possibility of recurrence in history, and the circularity of time. . . . . The Crying of Lot 49 is one of those mystery novels that can't be solved." -- New York Review of Books

"Remarkable. . . . The Crying of Lot 49 resembles metaphysical poetry in the range of its allusions and the curiosity of its creator. Consequently, the book is always surprising." -- Washington Post

"[A] spectacular tale. . . . The work of a virtuoso with prose. . . . His intricate symbolic order is akin to that of Joyce's Ulysses." - Chicago Tribune
"The comedy crackles, the puns pop, the satire explodes." - New York Times
"A puzzle, an intrigue, a literary and historical tour de force." - San Francisco Examiner
"Pynchon is again whispering something in our ear about the meaning of coincidence, the possibility of recurrence in history, and the circularity of time. . . . . The Crying of Lot 49 is one of those mystery novels that can't be solved." - New York Review of Books
"Remarkable. . . . The Crying of Lot 49 resembles metaphysical poetry in the range of its allusions and the curiosity of its creator. Consequently, the book is always surprising." - Washington Post