341:
personal relationships, keeping the musicians from smoking marijuana in his place, and the unexpected entrances of three coed philosophy majors lugging gallons of
Chianti and, later, five sailors searching for a whorehouse. As the musicians discuss music theory, the girls and sailors chant drunken songs together, and childish chicanery break out all over, Meatball debates whether to hide in a closet until the party subsides its second wind or try to calm everyone down, one by one. He decides on the latter, patching up each out-of-control situation until the party tapers down to a din. Callisto's bird fails to improve under the unchanging conditions, which causes Aubade to smash out a window of the hothouse with her bare hands, displacing the constant temperature of inside and outside and leaving the story in a state of hovering uncertainty of where the next moment will lead.
45:
398:
for a fifth of whiskey. Hogan steadfastly claims his seriousness and the kids stay to keep him company. Grover calls the hotel and asks to show up with
Etienne. McAfee can't afford to pay for the bottle of whiskey, much less the room he's staying in, and breaks down into screaming and crying in his bed, passing out in-between fits. The police are called in to escort Mr. McAfee out as a vagrant, despite protests from the kids and Hogan's insistence that the man is sick, not a criminal.
301:, shows up in a stolen MG to see his old friend. At this, Cindy orders the three men off the premises. They all get in Rocco's garbage truck, and head down to the dump, patrolled by an old man named Bolingbroke. There, Dennis waxes philosophical about the dump, thinking of it as an allegory for his life up to that point, and possibly his life in the future. Rocco leaves for home, and Bolingbroke, Bodine, and Dennis turn in for the night, swapping
402:
learns (and shares) the other meaning for “integration" (which he realizes is the meaning that the parents are using): white and black kids in the same schools. Carl's family is a sort of trigger for the gentrification of the area, an easy target, an explanation for the racist remarks made by Tim's mother and reflected around the neighborhood, and gives light to the mockery of Hogan's dispatch to Mr. McAfee's aid.
358:
and Bongo-Shaftsbury is put under guard. Upon reaching Cairo, the two men check into their hotels. The next morning, they head to the opera house where the Consul-General is a guest. Upon reaching their destination, they realize their hunch was correct, and
Moldweorp and his spies are swarming the place. After Porpentine foils the assassination attempt, a chase across the streets of Cairo ensues. They reach the
418:
362:, and exit their cabs, running across the desert. Porpentine and Goodfellow catch Moldweorp, and they talk a moment. Porpentine tells Goodfellow to return to the cab. He does, and a shot rings out. Turning around, he sees his companion face-down in the hot desert sand, as Moldweorp walks away. Sixteen years later, Goodfellow surveys a motorcade containing
382:" talk about planning elaborate practical jokes, financed by collecting milk money from school kids. The meeting adjourns to their secret hideout: the four of them depart, through a lush section of forest they dub King Yrjo's Woods, then down a stream aboard a refurbished flat-bottomed boat they christened the
405:
Returning to the present: when the boys walk Carl home from the secret hideout, and find that his yard has literally been trashed by their own parents, it is revealed that Carl, although accepted by the boys as a legitimate member of the Junta, is actually only an "imaginary playmate” (which explains
340:
is an adequate metaphor to apply to
American consumerist society, "a similar tendency from the least to the most probable, from differentiation to sameness, from ordered individuality to a kind of chaos." Meanwhile, Meatball juggles his attention between conversations about communication theory and
397:
member, gets a call to sit with another member who is alone and afraid. He and Tim go to the hotel where Mr. Carl McAfee, an
African-American musician from Mississippi, is staying. Mr. McAfee eyes the situation with the kids and, chalking it up to a bad joke, sends them away and calls room service
357:
to intercept him, along with
Goodfellow's new girlfriend, named Victoria Wren, her family, and a man named Bongo-Shaftsbury. During the trip, Bongo-Shaftsbury attempts to attack Victoria's younger sister Mildred, but Porpentine stops him. He then realizes that the man is a spy working for Moldweorp,
319:
A weekend-long lease-breaking party devolves into disarray as
Meatball Mulligan entertains a revolving door of cronies, servicemen, and jazz musicians while, in a hothouse room, Callisto and his lover Aubade ponder the everpresent condition of enclosed systems creating disorder while trying to nurse
287:
who, along with several of his companions in the battalion are assigned to help with the cleanup at a small island named Creole, which has just been hit by a hurricane. He picks up dead bodies back at the island and after the horrific day of work, he heads back thinking about how to go forward with
401:
Later that year, the Junta discusses their parents’ concerns about Carl
Barrington's family's arrival, and how it will affect the neighborhood and community. In response to the word "integration" being thrown around, Grover, the boy genius, offers the calculus definition. A week later, Grover
310:
were in the area, Dennis wonders if the woman he's looking for is a gypsy. Then he sees her. She is the most beautiful woman he's ever seen... and is also three feet tall. She takes him to her home, tunneling deep into the dump, where she asks him to marry her. He declines, saying he's already
296:
Dennis Flange, a lawyer at Wasp and
Winsome, Attorneys at Law, calls into the office, telling them he's not coming in. What he's going to do instead is sit at home and drink wine with the neighborhood garbage man, Rocco Squarcione. As they sit and talk, Dennis's wife, Cindy, comes home and is
220:
The book is also notable for its introduction, written by
Pynchon. His comments on the stories after reading them again for the first time in many years, and his recollection of the events surrounding their creation, amount to the author's only autobiographical comments to his readers.
305:
as they doze off. Then, in the middle of the night, Dennis hears a woman's voice calling "Anglo! Anglo with the golden hair!". Realizing this is him, Dennis runs off into the dump looking for the woman. Remembering that Bolingbroke said that
406:
earlier curious comments by adults). He is the means by which the boys attempt to come to terms with, and understand, their parents’ prejudices and actions. In the end, he can harmlessly evaporate until needed again.
311:
married. To this, she starts crying, thinking Dennis won't take her. He then thinks she looks like a child, and that he always wanted children, but Cindy was too busy. He then tells her he'll stay... for a while.
366:, upon hearing rumors of a possible assassination. He's joined by his new girlfriend, a barmaid this time, who thinks of him as just a simple-minded Englishman, no good in bed but liberal with his money.
320:
a baby bird back to health. The temperature outside remains 37 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the day, fueling apocalyptic paranoia in Callisto, who pontificates on the discoveries of the
353:. Their mission is to find out what their nemesis, Moldweorp, is up to in the area. Porpentine theorizes his plan is to assassinate the Consul-General, and so they travel to
693:
393:
In a flashback, the failure of the group's previous year's operation is recalled: before he can fulfill his assigned task in that plan, Hogan Slothrop, an 8-years-sober
378:, neighborhood kids from Mingeborough, Massachusetts, meet up at Grover's house one Saturday afternoon to discuss activities for the weekend. Their "Inner
688:
698:
538:
683:
329:
132:
297:
noticeably frustrated by Dennis's afternoon activities. To make matters worse, an old rowdy Navy "friend" of the Flanges, named
493:'Slow Learner,' Thomas Pynchon's collection of short stories from early years, will be published in April by Little, Brown.
283:
This was Pynchon's first published story. It centers around Nathan Levine, a lazy Specialist 3/C in the Army stationed at
531:
154:
547:
386:, to the cellar of an abandoned manor known as "The Big House”. Here they solidify plans to infiltrate and disrupt a
478:
387:
265:
86:
363:
524:
455:
321:
27:
622:
660:
582:
574:
394:
181:
44:
483:
31:
139:
127:
598:
436:
325:
302:
165:
508:
606:
551:
488:
379:
214:
58:
677:
614:
423:
375:
374:
Grover Snodd and his friends Tim Santora, Carl Barrington (an African American), and
307:
249:
76:
20:
349:
Two English spies, named Porpentine and Goodfellow, are sitting in a cafe in Upper
431:
284:
210:
449:
442:
417:
413:
298:
333:
516:
590:
194:
146:
337:
244:, No. 16, Philadelphia: Lippincott, on 16 March 1960, pp. 85–108.
359:
354:
350:
217:, originally published in various sources between 1959 and 1964.
263:"The Secret Integration" – First published December 26, 1964 in
16:
Collection of short stories by Thomas Pynchon, published in 1984
520:
140:
566:
166:
390:
meeting with smoke bombs and sodium/water explosions.
233:"The Small Rain" – First published in March 1959 in the
652:
633:
558:
189:
176:
164:
152:
138:
126:
118:
110:
102:
92:
82:
72:
64:
54:
269:237 No. 45, pp. 36–37, 39, 42–44, 46–49, 51.
209:is the 1984 published collection of five early
532:
8:
37:
539:
525:
517:
253:22, No. 2, in Spring 1960, pp. 27–92.
43:
36:
694:Short story collections by Thomas Pynchon
512:Cover Art Over Time at ThomasPynchon.com
469:
256:"Under the Rose" – First published in
477:Bingham, Sallie (February 12, 1984).
7:
247:"Entropy" – First published in the
14:
240:"Low-lands" – First published in
689:American short story collections
416:
699:Little, Brown and Company books
260:in May 1961, pp. 233–251.
1:
684:1984 short story collections
715:
25:
18:
487:. p. D5 – via
266:The Saturday Evening Post
213:by the American novelist
42:
370:"The Secret Integration"
364:Archduke Franz Ferdinand
336:, finally deciding that
237:, No. 2, pp. 14–32.
19:For the 2015 film, see
634:Short-story collection
456:To the Finland Station
446:by Niccolò Machiavelli
322:Laws of Thermodynamics
28:Developmental disorder
288:his life, if at all.
575:The Crying of Lot 49
484:The Courier-Journal
39:
32:Learning disability
258:The Noble Savage 3
172:PS3566.Y55 S5 1984
671:
670:
599:Mason & Dixon
583:Gravity's Rainbow
242:New World Writing
202:
201:
182:Gravity's Rainbow
103:Publication place
706:
541:
534:
527:
518:
496:
495:
474:
459:by Edmund Wilson
426:
421:
420:
345:"Under the Rose"
326:Clausius theorem
279:"The Small Rain"
190:Followed by
177:Preceded by
168:
142:
94:Publication date
47:
40:
714:
713:
709:
708:
707:
705:
704:
703:
674:
673:
672:
667:
648:
629:
607:Against the Day
554:
545:
505:
500:
499:
476:
475:
471:
466:
422:
415:
412:
376:Etienne Cherdlu
372:
347:
317:
294:
281:
276:
227:
157:
111:Media type
95:
50:
35:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
712:
710:
702:
701:
696:
691:
686:
676:
675:
669:
668:
666:
665:
656:
654:
650:
649:
647:
646:
637:
635:
631:
630:
628:
627:
619:
611:
603:
595:
587:
579:
571:
562:
560:
556:
555:
552:Thomas Pynchon
546:
544:
543:
536:
529:
521:
515:
514:
504:
503:External links
501:
498:
497:
489:Newspapers.com
468:
467:
465:
462:
461:
460:
452:
447:
439:
434:
428:
427:
411:
408:
371:
368:
346:
343:
316:
313:
293:
290:
280:
277:
275:
272:
271:
270:
261:
254:
245:
238:
235:Cornell Writer
231:
226:
223:
215:Thomas Pynchon
200:
199:
191:
187:
186:
178:
174:
173:
170:
162:
161:
158:
153:
150:
149:
144:
136:
135:
130:
124:
123:
120:
116:
115:
112:
108:
107:
104:
100:
99:
96:
93:
90:
89:
84:
80:
79:
74:
70:
69:
66:
62:
61:
59:Thomas Pynchon
56:
52:
51:
48:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
711:
700:
697:
695:
692:
690:
687:
685:
682:
681:
679:
663:
662:
661:Inherent Vice
658:
657:
655:
651:
644:
643:
639:
638:
636:
632:
625:
624:
623:Bleeding Edge
620:
617:
616:
615:Inherent Vice
612:
609:
608:
604:
601:
600:
596:
593:
592:
588:
585:
584:
580:
577:
576:
572:
569:
568:
564:
563:
561:
557:
553:
549:
542:
537:
535:
530:
528:
523:
522:
519:
513:
511:
507:
506:
502:
494:
490:
486:
485:
480:
473:
470:
463:
458:
457:
453:
451:
448:
445:
444:
440:
438:
437:John le Carré
435:
433:
430:
429:
425:
424:Novels portal
419:
414:
409:
407:
403:
399:
396:
391:
389:
385:
381:
377:
369:
367:
365:
361:
356:
352:
344:
342:
339:
335:
331:
327:
323:
314:
312:
309:
304:
300:
291:
289:
286:
278:
273:
268:
267:
262:
259:
255:
252:
251:
250:Kenyon Review
246:
243:
239:
236:
232:
229:
228:
224:
222:
218:
216:
212:
211:short stories
208:
207:
198:
196:
192:
188:
185:
183:
179:
175:
171:
169:
167:LC Class
163:
159:
156:
155:Dewey Decimal
151:
148:
145:
143:
137:
134:
133:0-316-72442-4
131:
129:
125:
121:
117:
113:
109:
106:United States
105:
101:
97:
91:
88:
87:Little, Brown
85:
81:
78:
77:Short stories
75:
71:
67:
63:
60:
57:
53:
49:First edition
46:
41:
38:Slow Learner
33:
29:
22:
21:Slow Learners
659:
642:Slow Learner
641:
640:
621:
613:
605:
597:
589:
581:
573:
565:
510:Slow Learner
509:
492:
482:
472:
454:
441:
404:
400:
392:
383:
373:
348:
318:
295:
282:
264:
257:
248:
241:
234:
230:Introduction
219:
206:Slow Learner
205:
204:
203:
193:
180:
432:John Buchan
303:sea stories
292:"Low-lands"
285:New Orleans
678:Categories
479:"Footnote"
464:References
450:Surrealism
443:The Prince
299:Pig Bodine
160:813/.54 19
98:April 1984
384:S.S. Leak
334:Boltzmann
315:"Entropy"
83:Publisher
591:Vineland
410:See also
274:Synopsis
195:Vineland
147:10348691
65:Language
338:entropy
308:gypsies
225:Content
68:English
664:(2014)
645:(1984)
626:(2013)
618:(2009)
610:(2006)
602:(1997)
594:(1990)
586:(1973)
578:(1966)
570:(1963)
559:Novels
360:Sphinx
328:, and
324:, the
197:
184:
55:Author
30:, see
548:Works
380:Junta
355:Cairo
351:Egypt
330:Gibbs
119:Pages
114:Print
73:Genre
653:Film
332:and
141:OCLC
128:ISBN
26:For
550:by
388:PTA
122:193
680::
567:V.
491:.
481:.
395:AA
540:e
533:t
526:v
34:.
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
