From the front cover:

'By the author of GRAVITY'S RAINBOW and winner of the National Book Award
A bizarre, saturnalian plunge into the underground
'A streamlined doomsday machine'
-The New York Times'

From the back cover:

'Who is Oedipa Maas?

And what was she doing when the Paranoids blew out all the lights? What was the strange legacy of Pierce Inverarity that first led her to the world-wide conspiracy known as the Tristero System, and then on into the mystery and enigma of America itself?

The Crying of Lot 49

'Full of sadness, terror, love and flamboyance ... The major character is really Pynchon himself.'
-The New York Times

'Pynchon's grim version of the Holy Grail ... The work of a virtuoso with prose ... His intricate symbolic order ... akin to that of Joyce's Ulysses.
-Chicago Tribune'

This is a paperback copy from Bantam Books, published in 1972. The book was originally published in 1966.

This book is #413 on the list of 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.

I got this book at a flea market at Nesøya elementary school in Bærum outside of Oslo on Sunday, September 23rd, 2007.

I haven't read this copy, but I have read the book ... I read another copy as part of a bookray this summer (July). This copy:
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/4286565

Here's what I wrote about it afterwards:

*****

What to say?? This was a really weird book. Weird to the point where I don't really think I understood it. The book was published in 1966 ... and while I don't want to seem prejudiced I do suspect that perhaps Pynchon was taking a few too many funny pills in the period when he wrote this. Psychedelic I guess is the word I want. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing. :-) But in this book there just seems to be lots of episodes that don't really connect ... I mean, they're in the sequence of the plot, but I don't see the significance that they have in the plot. Like this band that Oedipa takes up with. What's the point of having them in the story? I may have missed something but, well, this book was too weird for me. I didn't get it. Even so, I was OK with it right up to the end, which - I won't say in which way, that'll be giving away too much - really pissed me off. You can't end a book like that. If it hadn't actually said 'THE END' I would have thought some pages were missing. Overall a pretty pointless book. It's interesting to have read it as a memento of its time period, but I don't know how this got on the 1001 Books You Must Read list. The emperor's new clothes, anyone ... ?

Dagnabbit! Of course I had to forget something. On the first page of this book there were some peculiar notations written in pencil by a previous reader. Two sequences of numbers. I was going to copy them down in a journal entry here (maybe even take a picture! :-o). I thought perhaps they have something to do with the contents of the book and some later reader would be able to explain them. But, alas, I forgot. :-( Maybe KiwiInEngland, to whom this book will soon travel, will do it for me ... ? :-)

RELEASE NOTES:

This went off in the mail today, along with a bookring book, to KiwiInEngland in Ireland :-) as part of my project to send books to (at least) one new country every month in 2008. KIE will think of something fun to do with the book, I'm sure! Thanks for helping with my project! :-)

Sent to me so the book can travel around Ireland.

The penciled notions LeishaCamden talked about are set out below

C 12, 13, 14, 37, 44, 69, 86, 96, 97
W, 86, 96(Crossed out and replaced with), 133

I've had this book for ages and don't think I will get around to reading it in the near future. But I've discovered a great way to release it, which I think LeishaCamden will approve of.

It will be going to Limerick to take part in a mass book release as part of a community celebration called Cat Dig.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:





Posting to Limerick to take part in a mass book release as part of a community event - Cat Dig.
If you aren't familiar with Bookcrossing, take a few minutes to check out this very cool site. Bookcrossers LOVE books, and more than anything, they love to read books and then set them free for other people to find and enjoy. I would love it if you would leave a journal entry -- you can say where you found the book or how you liked it when you read it.

Received in the post from Kiwiinengland - thrilled to receive it! Will release as part of
http://spiritstorelimerick.weebly.com - Spirit Store CAT DIG on Catherine Street in Limerick

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

Released as part of Spiritstore's CAT DIG http://spiritstorelimerick.weebly.com