The Crying of Lot 49 by Pynchon, Thomas - 1966

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1966. First edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. Near Fine book in like dust jacket. Bump to bottom corner of rear board (with corresponding bump to jacket) and faint sunning to the top edge of boards. Small closed tear to rear jacket panel near foot of spine; light dampstain to verso of spine not visible on recto. Topstained black. In all, a bright and pleasing copy. "By far the most accessible of Pynchon's works, The Crying of Lot 49 is also probably his most concentrated. So short that it is often referred to as a novella, Lot 49 manages to get Pynchon's big ideas and even contain some of his delightfully controlled chaos" (Quarterly Conversation). The narrative of Oedipa Maas' attempt to dispose of the rather large estate left by recently deceased Pierce Inverarity, Pynchon ensures that Oedipa's experience is anything but straightforward. "Coincidence after coincidence piles up until Oedipa finds herself enmeshed in what may or may not be a global conspiracy where almost every person, place, and thing she meets with can, given enough time, be plausibly fit" (QC). A postmodern masterpiece and cornerstone of twentieth-century American literature. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.