A Companion to V. in Bloomington, MN

To the uninitiated, Thomas Pynchon’s
V
. seems to defy comprehension with its open-ended and fragmented narrative, huge cast of characters (some 150 of them), and wide range of often obscure references. J. Kerry Grant’s
Companion to “V.”
takes us through the novel chapter by chapter, breaking through its daunting surface by summarizing events and clarifying Pynchon’s many allusions. The
Companion
draws extensively from existing critical and explicative work on
V.
to suggest the range of interpretations that the novel can support.
The hundreds of notes that comprise the
are keyed to the three most widely cited editions of
Most notes are interpretive, but some also provide historical and cultural contexts or help to resurrect other nuances of meaning. Because it does not constitute a particular “reading” of, or “take” on, the novel, the
will appeal to a wide range of users. Rather than attempting to make final sense of the novel, the
exposes and demystifies Pynchon’s intent to play with our conventional attitudes about fiction.