Mason & Dixon

Thomas Pynchon · b. 1937 · USA

Why it matters

The astronomer and the surveyor draw the line that will divide a nation, narrated by a garrulous parson in mock-eighteenth-century prose complete with a talking dog and a mechanical duck. Pynchon's tenderest book wears its pastiche like a disguise for real grief.

At a glance

Sustained eighteenth-century pastiche diction and digressive length make for a slow, demanding read.