V. (Masterplots, Revised Second Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Pynchon
- First Published: 1963
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Satire
- Time of Work: 1898-1956
- Setting: Italy, France, Egypt, German Southwest Africa, Malta, Virginia, and New York
- Principal Characters: Benny Profane, Herbert Stencil, Sidney Stencil, Paola Maijstral, Fausto Maijstral, Hugh Godolphin, Evan Godolphin, The Whole Sick Crew, Rachel Owlglass, McClintic Sphere, V.
- Genres: Long fiction, Historical fiction, Satire
- Subjects: Virginia, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Africa or Africans, France or French people, Twentieth century, Alienation, Mysteries, Egypt or Egyptians, Espionage or spies, Italy or Italians
- Locales: Virginia, Africa, New York, NY, France, Egypt, Italy, Malta
The Story:
At the end of 1955, Benny Profane drifted off the street and into the Sailor’s Grave, a Norfolk tavern, and found his old shipmate Pig Bodine. Pig had abandoned his military duty. He had abandoned ship, driven crazy by Pappy Hod, whose wife, Paola, had left him to become a barmaid at the Sailor’s Grave. After a wild New Year’s Eve party, Profane and Paola took a bus to New York. Profane began to worry that Paola was becoming dependent on him, so he dumped her off on Rachel Owlglass, his occasional girlfriend. Freed of Paola, he traveled across town on the...
[The entire page is 2005 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
