Pynchon and Relativity

[Dave Monroe]

Pynchon and Relativity
Narrative Time in Thomas Pynchon’s Later Novels
by Simon de Bourcier

Draws on Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to examine of the workings of
narrative time in the novels of Thomas Pynchon, including Against the
Day.

Imprint: Continuum
Series: Continuum Literary Studies
Pub. date: 31 May 2012
ISBN: 9781441130099
240 Pages, hardcover

$110.00

Description
Is time an illusion? Do past, present, and future co-exist in a
timeless whole, or are our experiences of change and duration the
reality of time? Thomas Pynchon’s fiction has always been interested
in the interplay of these two ways of thinking about time, but his
recent fiction has approached the subject of time in terms of the
dramatic transformation in how science understands time and space
which flows from Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. In this book, Simon
de Bourcier looks in detail at Pynchon’s 2006 novel Against the Day,
which is set during the period in which Einstein published his
world-changing theory, and 1997’s Mason & Dixon, set in the eighteenth
century when Isaac Newton’s picture of a world governed by absolute
space and time was unchallenged. By comparing these two novels,
Pynchon and Relativity shows that Pynchon’s tales of loss, haunting,
and time travel are informed by a sophisticated awareness of the
philosophical implications of Relativity. The book goes on to examine
the implications of this for our reading of Pynchon’s earlier work.

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements \ Abbreviations \ Introduction \ 1. Critical and
Theoretical Writing on Time, Relativity, and Pynchon \ 2. Time,
Relativity, and the Logic of Fictional Worlds \ 3. The Fourth
Dimension in Against the Day \ 4. The Æther in Against the Day \ 5.
Spatial Time, the Æther, and the History of Physics in Mason & Dixon \
6. V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity’s Rainbow, Vineland, and Inherent
Vice \ Conclusion \ Bibliography \ Index.

Author(s)
Simon de Bourcier,

Simon de Bourcier has a degree in English from Trinity College,
Cambridge, an MA in English Studies from Anglia Ruskin University, and
a PhD from the University of East Anglia, where he has also taught as
an Associate Tutor.

http://www.continuumbooks.com/books/detail.aspx?BookId=162396&SubjectId=997&Subject2Id=1041