Pynchon and Relativity: Narrative Time in Thomas Pynchon's Later Novels

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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 writing has always been interested in the interplay of these two ways of thinking about time, but his recent fiction has also taken on the task of imaginatively responding to Einstein's Theory of Relativity, which in the early years of the twentieth century renewed this ancient debate. In this book, Simon deBourcier 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 consequences of this for our reading of Pynchon's other work.

Reviews

De Bourcier's book has provided the academic community with the most in-depth marrying of quantum mechanics and Pynchon that exists ... The book represents a landmark in Pynchon criticism, with significance both for the scientific historian and the literary theorist. -- Richard Moss, University of Durham, UK * The British Society for Literature and Science *
"In its consideration of time in all of Pynchon's novels from V. to Inherent Vice, this wide-ranging study deservedly takes its place in the best tradition of Pynchon criticism, moving with ease between literary criticism, philosophy, history and the natural sciences. In particular, the book's elaborate reading of Against the Day is groundbreaking, and this profound pioneering work makes Pynchon and Relativity a monograph no future analysis of that novel can afford to ignore." -- Sascha Phlmann, Assistant Professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich

Author Bio

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.