Slow Learner
| Company type | Book |
|---|---|
| Industry | Literature |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Founder | Thomas Pynchon |
| Products | Short story collection |
Slow Learner is a 1984 compilation featuring five of the earliest short stories by American author Thomas Pynchon, originally appearing between 1959 and 1964.
This volume contains an introduction written by Pynchon himself, providing his sole autobiographical reflections on these stories and the circumstances surrounding their creation.
Content
- Introduction
- "The Small Rain" – Initially published in March 1959 in the Cornell Writer, No. 2, pp. 14–32.
- "Low-lands" – First appeared in New World Writing, No. 16, Philadelphia: Lippincott, March 16, 1960, pp. 85–108.
- "Entropy" – Originally published in the Kenyon Review 22, No. 2, Spring 1960, pp. 27–92.
- "Under the Rose" – Debuted in The Noble Savage 3, May 1961, pp. 233–251.
- "The Secret Integration" – Published December 26, 1964 in The Saturday Evening Post 237 No. 45, pp. 36–37, 39, 42–44, 46–49, 51.
"The Small Rain"
Pynchon's debut published narrative centers on Nathan Levine, a Specialist 3/C in the Army stationed in New Orleans, who is deployed with his unit to assist with hurricane recovery efforts on Creole Island. After an exhausting day spent retrieving bodies, Levine reflects on his life's direction and meaning.
"Low-lands"
Dennis Flange, an attorney at Wasp and Winsome Attorneys, shirks work to share wine with Rocco Squarcione, a local garbage collector. Dennis’s wife Cindy disapproves of their gathering until an old Navy acquaintance, Pig Bodine, arrives driving a stolen MG. Cindy demands the men leave her property; they subsequently relocate to a nearby dump guarded by Bolingbroke. Dennis muses on the dump as a metaphor for his existence while exchanging sea tales with Bodine and Bolingbroke throughout the night. Later, Dennis hears an enigmatic female voice addressing him as "Anglo with the golden hair." Investigating the source at the dump, he encounters a diminutive woman about three feet tall who invites him into marriage. Although he declines due to his marital status, he is intrigued by her innocent demeanor and opts to remain for some time.
"Entropy"
A weekend party hosted by Meatball Mulligan descends into disorder as a revolving group of friends, servicemen, and jazz musicians convene. Within a heated room, Callisto and his partner Aubade contemplate the inevitable increase of disorder in closed systems while caring for an ill baby bird. The constant external temperature of 37°F intensifies Callisto’s apocalyptic anxieties as he links the Laws of Thermodynamics, Clausius theorem, and Gibbs and Boltzmann entropy concepts to American consumer culture—defining entropy as a transition "from ordered individuality to a kind of chaos."
Meanwhile, Meatball juggles discussions about communication theory and interpersonal relationships, prevents musicians from smoking marijuana, and manages interruptions from three philosophy students armed with Chianti alongside five sailors seeking a brothel. As debates on music theory blend with drunken chants and juvenile antics, Meatball opts to address the turmoil directly rather than avoid it. Gradually, he reestablishes calm as the gathering winds down. Callisto’s bird fails to improve under stable conditions until Aubade breaks a greenhouse window—disrupting the temperature balance and leaving the story unresolved amid uncertainty.
"Under the Rose"
In Upper Egypt, two British intelligence agents, Porpentine and Goodfellow, work covertly to uncover the schemes of their rival, Moldweorp. Fearing an assassination plot targeting the Consul-General, they journey to Cairo accompanied by Goodfellow's partner Victoria Wren, her family, and Bongo-Shaftsbury. When Bongo-Shaftsbury attempts to assault Victoria's sister Mildred, Porpentine steps in, exposing him as an operative for Moldweorp and placing him under detention.
Once in Cairo and settled into their accommodations, the group proceeds to the opera house where the Consul-General is in attendance. The venue becomes crowded with Moldweorp’s agents; Porpentine manages to thwart the assassination attempt, sparking a pursuit through the city streets that leads them to the Sphinx. They continue on foot across the desert and briefly detain Moldweorp before Goodfellow returns to their carriage. A gunshot rings out—Porpentine is found lying face down in the sand while Moldweorp escapes. Sixteen years later, Goodfellow observes a motorcade featuring Archduke Franz Ferdinand, accompanied by a new romantic interest who perceives him as a typical Englishman—generous financially but otherwise unremarkable.
"The Secret Integration"
Grover Snodd and his companions Tim Santora, Carl Barrington, and Etienne Cherdlu—local youths from Mingeborough, Massachusetts—convene at Grover’s residence on a Saturday to organize weekend plans. Their self-styled "Inner Junta" engages in pranks financed by collecting milk money from classmates. They retreat to their clandestine base—a cellar within an abandoned mansion known as "The Big House," accessible via a boat on a nearby stream—to finalize their strategy for disrupting a PTA meeting using smoke bombs and explosions.
A flashback recounts a previous failed mission: Hogan Slothrop, an 8-year sober member of AA, pauses his duties to assist Mr. Carl McAfee, an African-American musician staying at a local hotel. Despite McAfee’s initial refusal of help and subsequent emotional breakdown due to financial hardship and personal issues, Hogan and the children remain with him until law enforcement removes McAfee for vagrancy, highlighting the social difficulties faced by the community.
Later that year, the Junta debates concerns over Carl Barrington’s family moving into their neighborhood amid discussions of "integration." Grover initially attempts to explain integration through mathematical terms but soon realizes it refers to racial integration in schools—a contentious issue stoking local racism and parental opposition. Carl’s family becomes emblematic of gentrification tensions and serves as a target for neighborhood prejudice.
Returning to the present moment, when the boys escort Carl home, they discover his yard vandalized by their own parents. It is revealed that Carl is actually an "imaginary playmate," symbolizing how the boys process and confront their parents’ biases. Ultimately, Carl functions as a metaphorical figure who can "vanish" until summoned once more.
See also
- John Buchan
- John le Carré
- The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
- Surrealism
- To the Finland Station by Edmund Wilson