WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE AUTHORSlow Learner is a compilation of early stories written between 1959 and 1964, before Pynchon achieved recognition as a prominent writer for his 1963 novel, V. This edition also contains a revelatory essay on Pynchon's early influences and writing.The collection consists of five short stories: 'The Small Rain', 'Lowlands', 'Entropy', 'Under the Rose', and 'The Secret Integration', as well as an introduction written by Pynchon himself for the 1984 publication, offering a rare insight into his own views on his work.'Pynchon at his best' Guardian'[This] volume not only collects five early works but offers an easygoing, seemingly vulnerable 20-page introduction by the vanishing author himself' New York Times'Possibly the most accomplished writer of prose in English since James Joyce' London Review of Books