The Story Archive

Gravity's Rainbow

Thomas Pynchon · 1973 CE · Novel · Modern / American · Contemporary

In the last winter of the war in Europe an American lieutenant's sexual conquests in London are found to map, in advance, the impact sites of the German rockets, and a scattered apparatus of firms, cartels and intelligence officers sets out to make use of him. The pursuit runs into the occupied Zone of a shattered Germany among displaced Hereros, black-market operators and the hunt for a single modified rocket. It took the National Book Award and was denied the Pulitzer when the board overruled its own jury.

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Lineage

Attributes

Genre
WarSatireHistorical
Theme
War & ViolencePower & CorruptionFreedom vs FateDeath & MortalityObsession
Archetype (Jung / Campbell)
EverymanTricksterShadow
Plot structure
Nonlinear / FracturedEpisodicLabyrinth Plot
Symbol / motif
The MachineThe BattlefieldThe Web
Conflict
vs Technologyvs Societyvs Fate / Gods
Mode / tone
SatiricalIronicAbsurdist
Culture / tradition
Modern / American

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