Customer Reviews

A Companion to the Crying of Lot 49

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This little book written to provide insight into the myriad of Pynchon's obscure references and symbolic appellations in The Crying of Lot 49 is a worthwhile source of help if used with discretion and common sense. Although many of Grant's entries are useful to untangle some of Pynchon's more obscure references, others will simply lead you further down the path of confusion. The problem lies in the fact that while many of Grant's suggestions are useful, others simply bring about the same type of confusion that he is trying to address, since he often gives more than one possible explanation for each passage discussed. That is not to say that the book is not useful, it is, only that The Crying of Lot 49 by its very nature resists such means of explanation. But as reader of Pynchon already know, any help is welcome. As long as the reader keeps in mind that this book is meant only to introduce "possible meanings" and "complimentary facts", which may or may not correspond to what Pynchon actually has hidden in his words. Nonetheless a good source of info and a help to anyone exasperated by the twisting and turning of Pynchon's view of the postmodern world.

I would strongly encourage peopling reading The Crying of Lot 49 for the first time to NOT use this Companion. At best, it will only confuse because Grant clearly assumes that his readers are already familiar with the novel - odd but true is the fact that you need to have read the novel in order to understand the Companion! At worst, the Companion could ruin the experience of this wonderful novel since Grant freely discusses events from the end of the book early on in the Companion. This spoils the natural flow and discovery process.

Having said that, I used the Companion during my second reading of this novel and found it to be interesting and quite helpful in getting more out of the novel. Personally, I get the impression that the Companion is targeted for someone (like Grant) who teaches literature courses - it's jam packed with the kind of speculation, interpretation, and analysis that some people (often professors) love while others (often students) find distracting or pointless. For my tastes it goes overboard fairly often - a bloated discussion of the significance of a Tupperware party is but one of many possible examples. But that's OK since it's easy to skim or skip sections that aren't of interest.

I feel fortunate that I did not have the Companion when I first read The Crying of Lot 49, but equally fortunate that I did have it my second time through. Hey, learning the origin of the name Bloody Chiclitz is worth the price of the book alone.

I conduct the Berkeley Pynchon reading-group, Berkeley Pynheads. I can say, without reservation, that Kerry's book is absolutely essential for gaining access to The Crying of Lot 49. As a bonus, it is an endlessly fascinating read in itself. It is like an encyclopedia of American arcana. Buy it.

The Companion essentially functions as a long annotation for references in the Crying of Lot 49. It does most allusions justice, although we may never know the extent to which Pynchon envisioned his worlds. As an explanation of references, the Companion is quite succesful but it does not entirely meet its expectations as a companion because it lacks any sort of thematic or liteary analysis. It is essentially a reference for reading Pynchon and not a companion per se. Utterly useless as an overarching thematic reading of Pynchon, A Companion to the Crying of Lot 49 should not go underappreciated in its the ability to explain Pynchon's allusions. This book may turn out to be extremely useful or utterly useless, and perhaps both.

This book is a must for anyone who has read or is reading The Crying of Lot 49 and is somewhat confused by the allusions and references Pynchon makes throughout the book. From facts about Thurn and Taxis to an entry explaining who Ringo Star is (just in case you didn't know already), it is a wonderful reader to put amongst the Pynchon section of your bookshelf.

Grant's companion was very helpful in explaining contexts and allusions. It seemed to, however, miss a lot about the novel, especially Pynchon's dealing with the drug culture of the 60's. Its a solid companion that explains most modern critical interpretations of Pynchon, but such a great novel deserves better

This book reminds me what I hated most about English class: intellectuals who love to hear themselves talk about complicated themes and psychologies, all the while making the layman feel awful dumb for not knowing the obvious. Regardless, point by point it does bring the reader into the varying depths and themes of the book that might have been overlooked during a casual, non-collegiate, read.

Here's the key to uncracking The Crying of Lot 49. I used the book while I was reading Pynchon's novel while in a high school leterary club. With the novel's complexities, I never would have been able to understand the book with out this helpful companion. The book follows the novel in chapters pointing out everything that you may have missed. Much of what was pointed out I did infact miss never thinking Pynchon might have been using an illusion or just not understanding what the illusion was. This book is a must.