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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Some violence typical of noir detective fiction; a few fights and murders
Language
Some
Occasional profanity consistent with the era and setting
Sexual Content
Some
Sexual references and some explicit scenes; loose, free-love atmosphere throughout
Substance Use
A lot
Pervasive marijuana use and psychedelic drug references; cocaine, heroin, and other drugs appear; substance use is central to the milieu
Emotional Intensity
Some
Paranoia and loss; the novel mourns the end of the counterculture and the encroachment of corporate America
What this book is about
Hippie private detective Doc Sportello investigates the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend's billionaire boyfriend and gets tangled in a conspiracy involving real estate, the mob, a mysterious drug cartel called the Golden Fang, and the death of the counterculture. Pynchon's most accessible novel reads like a Philip Marlowe pastiche filtered through a contact high, with deadpan comedy and genuine melancholy about the end of the 1960s dream.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Heavy drug use throughout
Sexual content
Drug-cartel violence
Pervasive paranoid atmosphere
Reader Verification
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