V.

A bawdy, sometimes macabre, always fascinating search for a mysterious woman. ranging from New York to Cairo to Alexandria to Malta, it is a brilliant collage---at once allegorical, picaresque, erotic, satiric and romantic. Its intricacy and elaborate plot defy any real classification, yet it has become the uncontested "black humor" classic our our generation. "It is easier to nail a blob of mercury than to describe this novel by Thomas Pynchon." - SATURDAY REVIEW