A Mason & Dixon Companion

"Noted literary critic Harold Bloom thinks Mason & Dixon is Pynchon's best book, but that's just a start. Not only does it contain all of the writer's typical density and erudition, it's arguably his most humane depiction of relationships. The title pair are rendered caringly and movingly, and with a lot of humor. The book is a buddy movie, and it's warm and full of earnestness and narratively propulsive once you immerse yourself in its use of 18th-century language. And it is this narrative device-a full immersion in 18th-century language, history, and culture-paired with Pynchon's typical breadth of vocabulary and knowledge that demands a companion. In A Mason & Dixon Companion, Brett Biebel offers contextual maps and photographs, episode-by-episode summaries, and page-by-page annotations explaining allusions, defining obscure vocabulary, and illuminating the book's major themes. The goal is to help readers work their way through a difficult yet remarkably rewarding novel from one of American literature's most significant writers. A Mason & Dixon Companion is so full of friendship, humor, and life, and Pynchon's use of history and language is so carefully chosen that, by the end of the novel, the 18th-century feels closer than ever. Or, at least it should. All of the book's archaic vocabulary and obscure references, its unexplained name-drops and sudden scene-shifts, it's all there to constantly remind us of the importance of paying attention. This Companion aims to help readers in their quest to pay attention"--