A Mason & Dixon Companion

Mason & Dixon might be Thomas Pynchons most human book. Its main characters are richly drawn, and they center the narrative. Yet the novel is also packed with historical allusions and an eighteenth-century vernacular that some readers may find difficult to navigate. A "Mason & Dixon" Companion offers this navigation line by line, unpacking Pynchons puns, his many references, and his pet themes. Brett Biebel provides a contextual map, episode-by-episode summaries, and page-by-page annotations explaining allusions, defining obscure vocabulary, and illuminating the books major themes. The goal is to help readers work their way through a difficult yet remarkably rewarding novel from one of American literatures most significant writers. In a voice thats both relaxed and informed, the Companion illuminates what Harold Bloom called Pynchons late masterpiece. It crystallizes the prescience of Mason & Dixon, situating the novel within Pynchons broader oeuvre, while being fun to read in its own right.