Abstract

This article argues Pynchon’s Bleeding Edge (2013) offers a more imaginative
compass in which to navigate the complex cultural frames of finance, crisis,
neoliberalism, and the market. It is divided into two main sections. The first
uses Paul Crosthwaite’s recent arguments about the unsuitability of much of
‘crunch-lit’ – fictions of the financial crisis – to adequately capture the
unreality of financial exchange, thereby prompting a search for other
narrative modes to successfully address the abstractions of contemporary
global finance. Through examining selected sections, the article argues for the
formal superiority of Pynchon’s style in relation to economy-led critique. The
second section excavates a narrative of radical left-wing affiliation, particularly
in relation to the characters Maxine Tarnow and March Kelleher,
demonstrating how Pynchon’s narrative remains remarkably close to the
Marxist political tradition, and dialectical criticism in particular.