Word Wednesday – The Crying of Lot 49 – Thomas Pynchon

First off, let me just say, this is one weird book. But it’s the type of weird that keeps you interested. The Crying of Lot 49 is Thomas Pynchon’s postmodern take on conspiracy theories. The main character, Oedipa Maas is named executor of her newly deceased former lover’s estate. In the course of carrying out her duties she comes across an odd collection of stamps. This sets Oedipa on the trail of an underground mail service, Trystero, which has apparently been operating for centuries. The trouble is that Trystero may not actually exist and Oedipa may just be losing her mind. The whole book plays out like a conspiracy based mystery, but what it really is is a conspiracy theory about conspiracy theories. The setting, 1960’s Southern California, creates the perfect atmosphere. Nothing about the story is really straight forward. There is a lot of randomness and we don’t know what meaning anything has, if any. If you need a completely coherent plot, or want everything wrapped up with a bow by the end, then this is not for you. If you’re looking for a fun brain twisting mystery then you should give it a shot. It’s pretty short, more of a novella than a full fledged novel, so there;s no harm in checking it out.

Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crying_of_Lot_49

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Crying-Lot-Perennial-Fiction-Library/dp/006091307X