The Apprentice Years

On this page, go to:
[+] Why the Minor Works?
[+] Which works are we talking about?
[+] Slow Learner, in mr. Pynchon's own words
[+] What does this section consist of?

You can equally check this out:
[+] Early Work Bibliography
[+] Low-Lands

Why the minor works?
Other sites concentrate on the major Pynchon works: V. (1963), Gravity's Rainbow (1973), and Mason & Dixon (1997). Before these works were edited, mr. Pynchon had to practice, as every young author. This is why vheissu is more interested in the so-called minor works. In the first place, the visitor is likely to know more about the stories collected in Slow Learner (1984). An artistic masterpiece usually has its predecessors, and with trial and error one acquires his own style. There is also the revealing Introduction to this collection, in which mr. Pynchon is a bit dismissive about his apprentice years. And secondly, it is this site's conviction that these works generally are a bit, uuh, underrated.

How did Thomas Pynchon develop his particular style? Where did he get his themes? What is the consistency in his work? What are his stylistical devices? To be honest, we can't help you, but taking a closer look at the early works can be of help. Up till now, this has hardly happened; a bibliograpy on the early works is being composed.

Which works are we talking about?
Slow Learner is a collection of 5 short stories that appeared in magazines between early 1959 and 1964:
— The Small Rain (1959)
— Low-Lands (1960)
— Entropy (1960)
— Under The Rose (1961)
— The Secret Integration (1964)
Also in 1959, Mortality And Mercy In Vienna was issued, but it was not part of the Slow Learner collection. The publication details can be found on the Time Table.

This period is without any doubt very important for the young Pynchon: the craft of writing stories was further developed in the later novels and many chapters or subplots could easily be re-issued as complete stories —just think about the very moving Byron the Bulb in Gravity's Rainbow, the never-less-than-wonderful South Africa chapters in Mason & Dixon (a short novel in itself), and many others. One of the many stylistical Pynchon devices is: mixing different plot lines that could easily stand on their own.

Slow Learner, in mr. Pynchon's own words
Once mr. Pynchon's reputation as a literary giant was established (at least in the English speaking part of the world), his early stories knew some pirate editions, while the story Entropy, perhaps the weakest story of all, was anthologised a few times. This may have been been the main reason why five of the six stories were collected and published in 1984. The biggest surprise however was the Introduction written by mr. Pynchon. For the first time (and up till now, the last time), Thomas Pynchon commented on his own stories.

He is very dismissive about these stories and shows us mercilessly the flaws and the mistakes he thinks make the stories not too good, be it stylistically, use of language or what concerns the basic plot lines (while he already earned his own place in the literary pantheon). Even in the Slow Learner Introduction, Thomas Pynchon uses one of his own stylistical devices: pointing in the wrong direction, while the real message may be elsewhere.

One story goes uncollected in Slow Learner: Mortality and Mercy in Vienna, and one may wonder why, for our man does not say one word about it.

What does this section consist of?
In general, let's hope you find here more information about the Slow Learner stories. The goal is to offer the visitor a short explanation of some terms used in these stories, in alphabetical order. The first list is being made up, and is about Low-Lands, my own favourite and Mr. Pynchon's second published story. It goes without saying that it can do no harm having a copy at hand. Furthermore, Charles Hollander's in-depth study of the early stories can also be consulted on this site. If you want an excellent introduction to Mr. Pynchon's work, with a very fine chapter devoted to the early stories, we highly recommend Robert D. Newman, "Understanding Pynchon", University of Carolina Press, 1986 (in the series 'Understanding Contemporary American Literature'), unfortunately out of print.

Such a list is, by definition, incomplete and contains errors. Furthermore, since there is no aim whatsoever to be scientifically, it is highly subjective. But if you think that you can add/change something, get in touch. Some information is obtained from a discussion of Slow Learner, conducted on pynchon-l at the end of 2002, beginning of 2003. And some friends & colleagues have contributed as well.

	Name	Last Modified	Size	Description	Status
	Home	04-Jun-2003 15:07	N/A	N/A	N/A
	English
	eng_tsi.htm	21-Sep-2003 16:05	7 k	The Secret Integration	empty
	eng_tsr.htm	21-Sep-2003 16:05	7 k	The Small Rain	empty
	eng_e.htm	21-Sep-2003 16:05	7 k	Entropy	empty
	eng_mmiv.htm	12-Dec-2003 16:41	18 k	Mortality And Mercy In Vienna	10 %
	eng_ll.htm	01-Nov-2003 15:39	32 k	Low-Lands	30 %
	eng_utr.htm	21-Sep-2003 16:05	7 k	Under The Rose	empty
	eng_links.htm	21-Sep-2003 16:05	11 k	Links and Bibliography