Author | Thomas Pynchon |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre | Detective novel |
Published | 2009 (Penguin Press) |
Media type | Print (hardcover) |
Pages | 369 pp |
ISBN | 978-1-59420-224-7 |
OCLC | 276819214 |
813/.54 22 | |
LC Class | PS3566.Y55 I54 2009 |
Inherent Vice is a novel by American author Thomas Pynchon, originally published in August 2009. A darkly comic detective novel set in 1970s California, the plot follows sleuth Larry "Doc" Sportello whose ex-girlfriend asks him to investigate a scheme involving a prominent land developer. Themes of drug culture and counterculture are prominently featured. It is considered a postmodern novel that warps the stylistic conventions of detective fiction.[1][2] Critical reception was largely positive, with reviewers describing Inherent Vice as one of Pynchon's more accessible works. The novel was adapted into a 2014 film of the same name.