1930s NOIR TYPE STORY IT LOOKS LIKE

Milwaukee 1932, the Great Depression going full blast, repeal of Prohibition just around the corner, Al Capone in the federal pen, the private investigation business shifting from labor-management relations to the more domestic kind. Hicks McTaggart, a one-time strikebreaker turned private eye, thinks he’s found job security until he gets sent out on what should be a routine case, locating and bringing back the heiress of a Wisconsin cheese fortune who’s taken a mind to go wandering. Before he knows it, he’s been shanghaied onto a transoceanic liner, ending up eventually in Hungary where there’s no shoreline, a language from some other planet, and enough pastry to see any cop well into retirement – and of course no sign of the runaway heiress he’s supposed to be chasing. By the time Hicks catches up with her he will find himself also entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them, none of which Hicks is qualified, forget about being paid, to deal with. Surrounded by history he has no grasp on and can’t see his way around in or out of, the only bright side for Hicks is it’s the dawn of the Big Band Era and as it happens he’s a pretty good dancer. Whether this will be enough to allow him somehow to lindy-hop his way back again to Milwaukee and the normal world, which may no longer exist, is another question.

Hello Pynchonites!

I'm a bit new to this, currently working on Gravity's Rainbow, having already read a decent chunk of V. It's quite a rabbit hole figuring out what's going on, a stimulating project to say the least. I also read conspiracy theory (and a lot of philosophy) as a hobby. I think it's safe to discuss this, as most of the risque subject matter that Pynchon discussed is de-classified or common knowledge by now.

Thomas Pynchon seems to have been very interested in conspiracy theory, as his books often mention themes that were tightly related to real-life conspiracies. I won't go into too much detail here, as it is easy to look up for yourself if you are truly interested.

But then, there are also conspiracy theories about Pynchon himself. He was clearly a mysterious figure, as there is very little easily-accessible biographical information about him. Peter Moon has written a bit about this, but the theories seem like a bit of a stretch. Moon seems to think that Pynchon's work was intended as a kind of "inside joke" for a really specific community, and absurdist humor for everyone else.

I have a couple questions on this front: (1) was Pynchon intentionally creating an atmosphere of intrigue around himself, or were there legitimate reasons for his mysteriousness?; and (2) did the "secret" theories he hinted at throughout his books reveal information that, at the time, *was not accessible to the general public*?

Addendum: Has anyone really dug into these questions? Is there any really substantive research into Pynchon's biography? Do his books have significance beyond a literary exercise? Of course there's a lot of goofy, knee-slapping fun in his books. But there's also a lot that is *dead serious.*

I tend to find that the goofy stuff is an irritating distraction from the more serious content. But clearly, Pynchon is writing for a kind of "esoteric" pop culture. Some of us are looking for hidden meanings. But a lot of people are just here for the lulz. And maybe the lulz are the whole point. I'm confused, and don't even remember what I was supposed to be asking about. Help?

Thanks for your time.

https://thomaspynchon.com/an-october-surprise-thomas-pynchons-new-novel-shadow-ticket-oct-7-2025/

I don't know about you folks but it is looking pretty damn Pynchon-esque alright

https://youtu.be/EDeHW1cvIkQ?si=IT4B4KGTZqCa7H2p

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/316427/shadow-ticket-by-thomas-pynchon/

Di Bioskop September 2025 (Bottom right text reads: "In Theatres September 2025")

This is a beautiful short story which is less known work by the master. While recently we had a german translation (see post), I was really annoyed that it was never available in my language, so I did the job.

Introduced by a short essay and with plenty of foot notes as a bonus.

It was a fun project, enjoy until it lasts :)

Link: https://amzn.eu/d/4FTPbbZ

Not enough people know about this old-school mailing list.. They’ve been doing multiple group reads for each TP novel since like 1997.

& the 384 page count for S.T. has seemingly been confirmed, or at least very nearly so:

https://waste.org/pipermail/pynchon-l/2025-May/thread.html

In her recent interview on the Conan O'Brien needs a friend podcast, Natasha Lyonne talked about how she was very excited that Against the Day came out when she was going into rehab. I guess rehab gave her a lot of time to read (which she would need for AtD). The way she talked about her anticipation for the book made her sounds like a fan. Didn't seem like Conan knew much about Pynchon, though, as he didn't ask any follow-ups on that subject.

finally it seems to get on air, i do not know when but it looks quite legit. BUTCHERS CROSSING is a book by John Williams, that apparently inspired "Blood Meridian" (as some critics say), the so called counterpart to GR. Talkin' great american writers with a persona to them... ; )

The trailer here, foam if u read the book or just read it before the movie...aka americana anti western supreme!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT3FAue16Jw&ab_channel=RapidTrailer

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Pretty cool, if steep in price! Anyone have any additional info? Here are the links...

https://www.amazon.com/V-Novel-Thomas-Pynchon/dp/0063289539

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https://www.amazon.com/Crying-Lot-49-Thomas-Pynchon/dp/0063289520

Edit PSA: Amazon bad. Pre-order from somewhere else. That is all.

Luc Herman and John Krafft just released a booklength study on the drafting, editing, and publishing process that led to V. Because he's remained so private for so long, any genetic criticism or research on Pynchon has always been scant. There are a few essays in the 50th anniversary collection of essays that Cambridge released a while back that deal with TP's correspondence with Corlies Smith (and a very, very good paratextual analysis of the novel by Tore Rye Anderson)...but extended treatment of his primary material is and always has been very, very rare. I actually could be misremembering so please don't quote me on this, but there may even have been a publication embargo on some of the materials Herman and Krafft used for their book (if that's the case, I'm guessing that it lifted when he sold his archive last year).

Anyway! Now that so much more of his material has been made available....I guess keep an eye out for a lot more of this type of research if that's something you're interested in. Textual editing + genetic work have never really been my thing (I glazed over pretty fast flipping through John Barth's letters at the Hopkins archive back in January), but...yeah...buckle up I guess. I've read a bit of Herman's work in this vein and it's solid. Will be trying to get it on loan through the library or at the very least keeping an eye out for e-book availability as soon as they get it.

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First movie ever made that deals with the Herero genocide, might be interesting for readers of V and GR, coming soon to cinemas near you.

Here's a clip>eng sub>

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sorRVYYBIKU&ab_channel=TheUpcoming