Author:Thomas Pynchon
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHOR
Slow Learner is a compilation of early stories written between 1959 and 1964, before Pynchon achieved recognition as a prominent writer for his 1963 novel, V. This edition also contains a revelatory essay on Pynchon's early influences and writing.
The collection consists of five short stories: 'The Small Rain', 'Lowlands', 'Entropy', 'Under the Rose', and 'The Secret Integration', as well as an introduction written by Pynchon himself for the 1984 publication, offering a rare insight into his own views on his work.
'Pynchon at his best' Guardian
'[This] volume not only collects five early works but offers an easygoing, seemingly vulnerable 20-page introduction by the vanishing author himself' New York Times
'Possibly the most accomplished writer of prose in English since James Joyce' London Review of Books
Possibly the most accomplished writer of prose in English since James Joyce... Sentence by sentence he can do more than any novelist of this century with the resources of the English-American language
—— London Review of BooksAnything from the most monstrous talent in the post-war West should be pursued in earnest. I've eaten two copies already
—— Time OutThomas Pynchon is the Gargantua of modern fiction... In Slow Learner he breaks cover for the first time with a remarkable open handed portrait of the writer as a young man
—— Sunday TimesPynchon at his best
—— GuardianIntriguing material for Pynchon fans and critics
—— Kirkus ReviewImpeccably edited by Patrick McGuinness. The first volume stretches from the 16th century to the early 20th century ... Volume two takes us from there to the early 21st century, featuring more women and non-white authors than the first volume. Treat yourself: buy both.
—— Tomiwa Owolade , Sunday TimesWhat a collection it is ... Both volumes fizz with the enthusiasm with which McGuinness has assembled stories that range across centuries and continents ... This will surely turn out to be the definitive anthology of French-language short fiction.
—— Charlie Connelly , The New EuropeanTales with a certain ooh la la ... an eclectic, often steamy collection charting the history of the French short story [with] some gems by less famous figures ... high marks for quality and variety.
—— Matthew Reisz , The ObserverHer writing is incredible, so focused and clear. Not a word that doesn't need to be there
—— Tracey ThornIn the genre of feminine madness, these stories are to be worshipped. They are fearless, hysterical, violent yet full of grace. Each sentence escalates toward devastating, poetic insight about our bodies, about cultural demands both treasured and feared, and about what makes being alive a terror and a joy.
—— VENITA BLACKBURN, author of How to Wrestle a GirlChang returns with a dazzling collection of stories within stories that draw on old myths to embody the heartache and memories of Asian American women. Chang's bold conceits and potent imagery evoke a raw, visceral power that captures feelings of deep longing and puts them into words. This stellar collection will leave readers hungry for more.
—— Publishers Weekly (starred review)This book traces a line from old worlds to new worlds by means of the bloody umbilical cords that stretch between them. . . . These stories unthread the tangled relationships between mothers and daughter, aunts and cousins, siblings and lovers . . . a lingering sense that language, as well as life, is infinitely adaptable, no matter the ground on which it is given to grow. Lurid, funny, strange, and deftly sorrowing-an important new voice.
—— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)Dazzling . . . This stellar collection will leave readers hungry for more.
—— Publishers Weekly (starred review)[K-Ming Chang] rewrites the world as a place of radical transformation.
—— New York Times Book Review[Her] ability, to take a common, decidedly earthbound, experience and transform it through her lens into a fantastical, otherworldly encounter shines. . . . Chang's writing reflects her gift as a lifelong listener of oral storytelling . . . and her ability to synthesize new ideas with her own spin on language.
—— San Francisco ChronicleChang has a special talent for forging history into myth and myth into present-day fiction. . . . Gods of Want is in some ways a fantasy of queer freedom. Its main characters, all Taiwanese or Chinese by birth or descent, are allowed to be who they are, to love and make love to whomever they choose.
—— Los Angeles Times[K-Ming Chang] is back with her signature precise and enthralling prose in this short-story collection.
—— ShondalandK-Ming Chang's inspired mix of magic and realism returns in full fabulist force. . . . The stories are eclectic . . . and united by Chang's fascination with the queer and quotidian in her characters' worlds. . . . Piercing.
—— EsquireHer new short-story collection Gods of Want both widens and calcifies the expansiveness of her range. . . . Chang is singular amongst us all. . . . New work from Chang is a cause for celebration-a holiday in its own right-and it's also a reminder of the infinite possibilities on the page. . . . Nothing short of marvelous.
—— Bryan Washington , Electric Literature