{"product_id":"mason-dixon-companion-9780820365848","title":"Mason \u0026 Dixon Companion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMason \u0026amp; Dixon \u003c\/i\u003emight be Thomas Pynchon's most human book. Its main characters are richly drawn, and they center the narrative. Yet the novel is also packed with historical allusions and an eighteenth-century vernacular that some readers may find difficult to navigate.\u003ci\u003e A \"Mason \u0026amp; Dixon\" Companion\u003c\/i\u003e offers this navigation line by line, unpacking Pynchon's puns, his many references, and his pet themes. Brett Biebel provides a contextual map, episode-by-episode summaries, and page-by-page annotations explaining allusions, defining obscure vocabulary, and illuminating the book's major themes. The goal is to help readers work their way through a difficult yet remarkably rewarding novel from one of American literature's most significant writers. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn a voice that's both relaxed and informed, the \u003ci\u003eCompanion \u003c\/i\u003eilluminates what Harold Bloom called \"Pynchon's late masterpiece.\" It crystallizes the prescience of \u003ci\u003eMason \u0026amp; Dixon\u003c\/i\u003e, situating the novel within Pynchon's broader oeuvre, while being fun to read in its own right.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBRETT BIEBEL teaches writing and literature at Augustana College. He is the author of \u003ci\u003e48 BLITZ \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eWinter Dance Party\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand his writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eSmokeLong Quarterly, The Masters Review, Alien Magazine, Hobart, Wigleaf\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. He lives and writes in the Quad Cities.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"University of Georgia Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50489547915538,"sku":"9780820365848","price":133.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a5c8280e-31ac-460e-b748-c7ed318177dd.jpg?v=1730501316","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/mason-dixon-companion-9780820365848","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}