Encyclopedic novel
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The encyclopedic novel is a genre of complex literary fiction which incorporates elements across a wide range of scientific, academic, and literary subjects. The concept was coined by Edward Mendelson
Mendelson considered James Joyce's Ulysses an "encyclopedic narrative".
Gravity's Rainbow
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Gravity's Rainbow is a 1973 postmodern novel by Thomas Pynchon. The narrative is set primarily in Europe at the end of World War II and centers on the design, production and dispatch of V-2 rockets by
Encyclopedic novel
…incorporates elements across a wide range of scientific, academic, and literary subjects. The concept was coined by Edward Mendelson in criticism of Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, defined as an encyclopedia-like attempt to "render the full range of knowledge and beliefs of a national culture, while identifying…
First edition cover design
A 1945 U.S. Army diagram of the V-2 rocket
This May 3, 1945 image of Wernher von Braun (center right) is referred to in the narrative, giving a quite exact timeframe for some events in the book.
An underground tunnel at Mittelwerk in 1945