Thomas Pynchon

Slow Learner is a compilation of early stories written between 1959 and 1964, before Pynchon achieved recognition as a prominent writer for his 1963 novel, V and containing a revelatory essay on his early influences and writing. The collection consists of five short stories- 'The Small Rain', 'Lowlands', 'Entropy', 'Under the Rose', and 'The Secret Integration', as well as an introduction written by Pynchon himself for the 1984 publication. The five stories were originally published individually in various literary magazines but in 1984, after Pynchon had achieved greater recognition, Slow Learner was published to collect and copyright the stories into one volume. The introduction also offers a rare insight into Pynchon's own views on his work and influences.

Early Stories

Slow Learner

Donald

Pynchon's long introduction is the closest we get to an autobiography or interview from him, and it doesn't disappoint. I would say it's required reading for people who write or care about writing.

As he notes, some of these stories are not very good (namely, 'The Small Rain' and 'Under the Rose'), but I liked 'Low-Lands', 'Entropy' and 'The Secret Integration'.

Those stories are good, but it's staggering how much he improved as a writer between those stories and 'V.'

Early short stories by Thomas Pynchon, introduced by the author and praised as "an exhilarating spectacle of greatness discovering its powers" by the New Republic. Thomas Pynchon's literary career was launched not with the release of his widely acclaimed first novel, V., but with the publication in literary magazines of the five stories collected here. In his introduction to Slow Learner, the author reviews his early work with disarming candor and recalls the American cultural landscape of the early post-Beat era in which the stories were written. Time magazine described this introductory essay as "Pynchon's first public gesture toward autobiography." "Funny and wise enough to charm the gravity from a rainbow...All five of the pieces have unusual narrative vigor and inventiveness." --New York Times

Slow Learner Early Stories

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