IVIV (0) Dustjacket

Sat Aug 15 15:26:37 CDT 2009

Thomas Pynchon
Inherent Vice

It's been awhile since Doc Sportello has seen his ex-girlfriend.
Suddenly out of nowhere she shows up with a story about a plot to
kidnap a billionaire land developer whom she just happens to be in
love with. Easy for her to say. It's the tail end of the psychedelic
sixties in L.A., and Doc knows that "love" is another of those words
going around at the moment, like "trip" or "groovy," except that this
one usually leads to trouble. Despite which he soon finds himself
drawn into a bizarre tangle of motives and passions whose cast of
characters includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous
loan shark, a tenor sax player working undercover, an ex-con with a
swastika tattoo and a fondness for Ethel Merman, and a mysterious
entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up
by some dentists.

In this lively yarn, Thomas Pynchon, working in an unaccustomed genre,
provides a classic illustration of the principle that if you can
remember the sixties, you weren't there ... or ... if you were there,
then you ... or, wait, is it ... Part noir, part psychedelic romp, all
Thomas Pynchon — private eye Doc Sportello comes, occasionally, out of
a marijuana haze to watch the end of an era as free love slips away
and paranoia creeps in with the L.A. fog.

ISBN: 978-1-59420-224-7
Price: $27.95/$31.00 Can.
EAN: 9781594202247 52795
Category: Fiction
Pages: 416
Trim: 6 1/8" x 9 1/4"
Rights: E00
On Sale: 8/4/09
STRICT ON SALE
AVAILABLE FROM PENGUIN AUDIO
Unabridged * 13 CDs, 15 Hours
978-0-14-314476-2
@ $39.95/$44.00 Can.

http://www.thomaspynchon.com/_news/_assets/Inherent-Vice-Pynchon.jpg
http://booksellers.dk.com/static/pdf/penguinpress-summer09.pdf
http://www.thomaspynchon.com/inherent-vice.html

From: Tim Ware <tim@[omitted]>
To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l@[omitted]>
Subject: Reworked Art for Inherent Vice
Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:00:52 -0800

Darren Haggar, who is art directing for Inherent Vice, has reworked
the cover fonts, for the better.

You can see the new version here:

http://www.hyperarts.com/thomas-pynchon/inherent-vice.html

where I'm tracking this sucker.

Cheers!
Tim

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0812&msg=131097

Latest Version of Inherent Vice Dustjacket Cover Art

At right is the latest version of the cover art for Thomas Pynchon's
Inherent Vice, set for publication on August 4, 2009. The artist is
Darshan Zenith and the art director at Penguin is Darren Haggar. As
you can see, the font has been changed, and for the better, IMHO. It
looks quite lovely, eh?

Just click the image to view an enlargement.

http://www.thomaspynchon.com/_news/_assets/inherent-vice_cover-final.jpg
http://www.thomaspynchon.com/inherent-vice.html

Darren Haggar
Design
Art Direction
mail at dhaggar.com

http://www.dhaggar.com/

May 18, 2009:
Inherent Vice galleys have been distributed in the UK

We have been contacted by a bookseller in the UK who received galleys
of Inherent Vice about a week ago.

Here's the big-print lead on the back cover:

"He's back.... the most important and elusive writer of his generation
returns with a magnificently crazy and compelling psychedelic yarn
about the sixties, featuring new noir hero, private eye Doc Sportello"

http://www.thomaspynchon.com/_news/_assets/Inherent-Vice-galleys.jpg
http://www.thomaspynchon.com/inherent-vice.html

Monday, Dec 15
Thomas Pynchon Surfs Internet for Cover Art

Earlier this year, novelist Thomas Pynchon hand-picked an image by
artist Darshan Zenith for the cover of his new novel. For die-hard
fans, the picture gives a glimpse into the reclusive writer's mind.

As GalleyCat reported last month, the new Pynchon novel is entitled
Inherent Vice--a private detective yarn set in the 1960s. The Stranger
pointed towards the entropic roots of that title.

The painting is full of allusions to classic works of surf art, a set
of references that must have pleased Pynchon. ThomasPynchon.com
un-covered the scoop:

"The 1959 Cadillac Hearse is parked in front of the "Endless Summer
Surf Shop" (namechecking the Beach Boys Greatest Hits collection and
Bruce Brown's 1966 surfing documentary!) ... He paints only the
background of the image (the sky, sea, palm trees &c.) and scans the
painting into his computer. He then uses 1:18-scale metal diecast
models of the cars photographed against a white background, and loads
the digital photo into the computer ... the final work is a digital
creation, and there is no original painting of the work."

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/book_jackets/thomas_pynchon_surfs_internet_for_cover_art_103384.asp
http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0812&msg=131211

Cover Art by Maui, Hawaii Artist Darshan Zenith

The cover illustration is by Maui artist Darshan Zenith. The piece is
called "Cadillac Hearse" or, perhaps, "Eternal Summer" — "A 'Retired'
Caddy Hearse Greets Daybreak at a Beach Surf Shop" — and is one of
many prints available on his Cruiser Art website. The 1959 Cadillac
Hearse is parked in front of the "Endless Summer Surf Shop"
(namechecking the Beach Boys Greatest Hits collection and Bruce
Brown's 1966 surfing documentary!). (Thanks to the Pynchon List for
identifying the image.)

Apparently, Pynchon was searching the Web for the right image for the
Inherent Vice cover, found the Cruiser Art website and the "Caddy
Hearse" piece, and wanted to use it. Penguin contacted Cruiser Art and
obtained the appropriate permissions. Darren Haggar is Penguin's art
director for this project.

The way Darshan creates his pieces is quite interesting. He paints
only the background of the image (the sky, sea, palm trees &c.) and
scans the painting into his computer. He then uses 1:18-scale metal
diecast models of the cars, photographed against a white background,
and loads the digital photo into the computer. From this point on,
it's all Photoshop, integrating the car image into the background
painting, and then creating the details with Photoshop tools. So the
final work is a digital creation, and there is no original painting of
the work. I was told that the basic structure of the surf shack was
also part of the original painting for the Caddy Hearse piece. Also,
Darshan apparently had the 1966 Bruce Brown film in mind when naming
the shack "Endless Summer."

Update: Cruiser Art sent along a link to the same model they used for
the painting, now on sale on eBay. It's a 1959 Cadillac Crown Royal
Limousine Style Hearse. Steve Rummel, Darshan's business partner,
adds: "We painted the landau top white.  Notice it comes complete with
a casket, but we couldn't figure any way to use it."

http://www.thomaspynchon.com/inherent-vice.html

Cruiser Art Gallery

http://www.cruiserart.com/maui-artist-darshan-zenith.htm

Cadillac Hearse Art Print

http://www.cruiserart.com/1959_hawaiian-surf-surfer-surfing-art.htm

1959 CADILLAC CROWN ROYAL LIMOSINE STYLE HEARSE 1:18

http://cgi.ebay.com/1959-CADILLAC-CROWN-ROYAL-LIMOSINE-STYLE-HEARSE-1-18_W0QQitemZ200282336708QQcmdZViewItemQQptZDiecast_Vehicles

"  . . .But with time change is inevitable. And in the automobile
industry styling and mechanical advances lead the way.  In the span of
a few short years our state of art cruiser was no longer the newest
and latest.  Indeed before long it's likely our cruiser found itself
in the hands of a second or third owner where utility rather than the
latest look became the priority.  Our cruiser undoubtedly experienced
a less pampered existence as the harsh realities of life now took
center stage.  Fast-fforward a decade or two and for most cruisers
life has evolved from a world burdened with few concerns to one
focused on day-to-day survival.  Routine maintenance and regular
washing, let alone an occasional polishing, are a thing of the past.
Minor dings and emerging rust spots are ignored. The ethos becomes
"keep running and deal with this new, harsher life -- or else".  Or
else the junkyard or the car crusher may be just one breakdown away. .
.  "

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0811&msg=130673

A repurposed Hearse is also a nice symbolism, building on what's said
about death in the preface to _Slow Learner_
Being able to memento mori whilst cruising the beach...excellent!

http://waste.org/mail/?list=pynchon-l&month=0811&msg=130693

Thanks Robin, Tim, Mike ...