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Mason & Dixon

By Thomas Pynchon
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Mason & Dixon is Thomas Pynchon's epic historical novel reimagining the adventures of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, the British surveyors famous for mapping the Mason-Dixon Line in the 18th century. The story follows the contrasting duo on their grand journey from England to the Cape of Good Hope and then to pre-Revolutionary America, through encounters with Native Americans, frontier folk, naval battles, conspiracies, and moments of wild humour and reflection on the Age of Reason.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers who appreciate ambitious historical fiction, richly detailed narrative, and complex characters, especially fans of literary fiction with a taste for satire, adventure, and the intertwining of history and myth.

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Charles Mason (1728 -1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779) were the British Surveyors best remembered for running the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland that we know today as the Mason-Dixon Line.

A hugley ambitious, epic work from this most inventive and creative author.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Thomas Pynchon's hugely ambitious, epic historical fiction brings to madcap life the fault lines of modern America.

An epic, historical adventure into the friendship of two men on their journey to map the fault lines of modern America.

Charles Mason (1728-1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779) were the British Surveyors best remembered for running the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland that we know today as the Mason-Dixon Line. Here is their story as re-imagined by Thomas Pynchon, in an updated eighteenth-century novel featuring Native Americans and frontier folk, ripped bodices, naval warfare, conspiracies erotic and political, and major caffeine abuse.

We follow the mismatch'd pairโ€”one rollicking, the other depressive; one Gothic, the other pre-Romanticโ€”from their first journey together to the Cape of Good Hope, to pre-Revolutionary America and back, through the strange yet redemptive turns of fortune in their later lives, on a grand tour of the Enlightenment's dark hemisphere, as they observe and participate in the many opportunities for insanity presented to them by the Age of Reason.

A novel that is as moving as it is cerebral, as poignant as it is daringโ€”Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as Pynchon's finest and most original work, Mason & Dixon has been acclaimed for its playful, erudite, and rollicking narrative. Critics highlight its blend of history, satire, and farce with a deeply moving and cerebral storytelling style. The novel is seen as a potential Great American Novel that showcases Pynchon's remarkable inventiveness and storytelling power.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780099771913

Publisher: Vintage Publishing

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 April 1998

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Vintage Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 42.0mm

Width: 131.0mm

Height: 199.0mm

Weight: 562g

Pages: 784

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books Thomas Pynchon

About the Author

Thomas Pynchon is the author of V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, Slow Learner (a collection of short stories), Vineland, Mason & Dixon, Against the Day, Inherent Vice and Bleeding Edge. He received the National Book Award for Gravity's Rainbow in 1974.

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