Although it has been pointed out that thomas Pynchon's The Crying of
Lot 49 can be considered a parody of detective fiction, no serious analysis
of the implications of this thesis has been carried out yet.
Therefore, this essay attempts to show which components of the genre
the author has chosen to put to use, as well as to which trend they are
related. It highlights the effects pynchon seeks to produce in his readers, as
compared to the expectations he raises by using the traditional structure of
detective fiction. Finally, it explores how Pynchon's reversal of the pattern
affects the readers' understanding of both this novel and its author's view
of reality.
