Abstract

One of the most common impressions derived from Thomas Pynchon's work is that the author has digested libraries of information. Much of this information is obviously historical, yet the depth and scope of historical detail in Pynchon's fiction almost questions the very notion of the historical event. In Gravity's Rainbow, for instance, the Second World War is made to accommodate such traditionally marginalized matters as the fate of the Hereros, the political significance of the Zoot suit, the extermination of the dodo bird, etc. These are all elements that usually' wind up on the trash heap of traditional historiography. For Pynchon however, they become the very substance of a counter-history.

How to Cite:

Barnett, S., (1988) “Refused Readings: Narrative and History in "The Secret Integration"”, Pynchon Notes , 79-85. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/pn.319