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class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/JoyceUlysses2.jpg/220px-JoyceUlysses2.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="278" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/JoyceUlysses2.jpg/330px-JoyceUlysses2.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/JoyceUlysses2.jpg/440px-JoyceUlysses2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="444" data-file-height="562" /></a><figcaption>Mendelson considered <a href="/wiki/James_Joyce" title="James Joyce">James Joyce</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Ulysses_(novel)" title="Ulysses (novel)">Ulysses</a></i> an "encyclopedic narrative".<sup id="cite_ref-em-en_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-em-en-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist 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word</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saying" title="Saying">Saying</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> Major written forms</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content-with-subgroup hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Drama" title="Drama">Drama</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Closet_drama" title="Closet drama">closet drama</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Poetry" title="Poetry">Poetry</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lyric_poetry" title="Lyric poetry">lyric</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narrative_poetry" title="Narrative poetry">narrative</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prose" title="Prose">Prose</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_nonsense" title="Literary nonsense">Nonsense</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Nonsense_verse" title="Nonsense verse">verse</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ergodic_literature" title="Ergodic literature">Ergodic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Electronic_literature" title="Electronic literature">Electronic</a></li></ul> <table class="sidebar-subgroup"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Long prose fiction</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Anthology" title="Anthology">Anthology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Serial_(literature)" title="Serial (literature)">Serial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Novel" title="Novel">Novel</a>/<a href="/wiki/Romance_(prose_fiction)" title="Romance (prose fiction)">romance</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Short prose fiction</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Novella" title="Novella">Novella</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Novelette_(literature)" class="mw-redirect" title="Novelette (literature)">Novelette</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Short_story" title="Short story">Short story</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drabble" title="Drabble">Drabble</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sketch_story" title="Sketch story">Sketch</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flash_fiction" title="Flash fiction">Flash fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parable" title="Parable">Parable</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religious_text" title="Religious text">Religious</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wisdom_literature" title="Wisdom literature">Wisdom</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> Prose genres</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content-with-subgroup hlist"> <table class="sidebar-subgroup"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Fiction" title="Fiction">Fiction</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Children%27s_literature" title="Children's literature">Children's</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Encyclopedic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Genre_fiction" title="Genre fiction">Genre</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Action_fiction" title="Action fiction">action</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adventure_fiction" title="Adventure fiction">adventure</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coming-of-age_story" title="Coming-of-age story">coming-of-age</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crime_fiction" title="Crime fiction">crime</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Erotic_literature" title="Erotic literature">erotic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fantasy_literature" title="Fantasy literature">fantasy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Horror_fiction" title="Horror fiction">horror</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_fiction" title="Military fiction">military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paranormal_fiction" title="Paranormal fiction">paranormal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Romance_novel" title="Romance novel">romance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_fiction" title="Science fiction">science fiction</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Supernatural_fiction" title="Supernatural fiction">supernatural</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Western_(genre)" title="Western (genre)">western</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historical_fiction" title="Historical fiction">Historical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Realist_literature" class="mw-redirect" title="Realist literature">Realist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Speculative_fiction" title="Speculative fiction">Speculative</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Non-fiction" title="Non-fiction">Non-fiction</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Academic_publishing" title="Academic publishing">Academic</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History" title="History">history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anecdote" title="Anecdote">Anecdote</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epistle" title="Epistle">Epistle</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Essay" title="Essay">Essay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Journalism" title="Journalism">Journalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Letter_(message)" title="Letter (message)">Letter</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Life_writing" title="Life writing">Life</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nature_writing" title="Nature writing">Nature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Persuasive_writing" title="Persuasive writing">Persuasive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Travel_literature" title="Travel literature">Travelogue</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> Poetry genres</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content-with-subgroup hlist"> <table class="sidebar-subgroup"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Narrative_poetry" title="Narrative poetry">Narrative</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Children%27s_poetry" title="Children's poetry">Children</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epic_poetry" title="Epic poetry">Epic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Verse_drama_and_dramatic_verse" title="Verse drama and dramatic verse">Dramatic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Verse_novel" title="Verse novel">Verse novel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_poetry" title="National poetry">National</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Lyric_poetry" title="Lyric poetry">Lyric</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ballad" title="Ballad">Ballad</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elegy" title="Elegy">Elegy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Epigram" title="Epigram">Epigram</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ghazal" title="Ghazal">Ghazal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haiku" title="Haiku">Haiku</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hymn" title="Hymn">Hymn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)" title="Limerick (poetry)">Limerick</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ode" title="Ode">Ode</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Qasida" title="Qasida">Qasida</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sonnet" title="Sonnet">Sonnet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Villanelle" title="Villanelle">Villanelle</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Lists</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_epic_poems" title="List of epic poems">Epic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_poetry_groups_and_movements" title="List of poetry groups and movements">Groups and movements</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_poets" title="List of poets">Poets</a></li></ul></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> Dramatic genres</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Comedy" title="Comedy">Comedy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Libretto" title="Libretto">Libretto</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Play_(theatre)" title="Play (theatre)">Play</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_(theatrical_genre)" title="History (theatrical genre)">historical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Morality_play" title="Morality play">moral</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Satire" title="Satire">Satire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Screenplay" title="Screenplay">Script</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tragedy" title="Tragedy">Tragedy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tragicomedy" title="Tragicomedy">Tragicomedy</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> <a href="/wiki/History_of_literature" title="History of literature">History</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_literature" title="Ancient literature">Ancient</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classics" title="Classics">Classical</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Medieval_literature" title="Medieval literature">Medieval</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_modernism" title="Literary modernism">Modernist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Postmodern_literature" title="Postmodern literature">Postmodern</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> Lists and outlines</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_literature" title="Outline of literature">Outline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Glossary_of_literary_terms" title="Glossary of literary terms">Glossary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_books" title="Lists of books">Books</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_writers" title="Lists of writers">Writers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_literary_movements" title="List of literary movements">Movements</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_literary_cycles" class="mw-redirect" title="List of literary cycles">Cycles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_literary_awards" title="List of literary awards">Literary awards</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_poetry_awards" title="List of poetry awards">poetry</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Short_story_collection" title="Short story collection">Short story collection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lost_literary_work" title="Lost literary work">Lost literary work</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lacuna_(manuscripts)" title="Lacuna (manuscripts)">Lacuna</a></li></ul></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> <a href="/wiki/Literary_theory" title="Literary theory">Theory</a> and <a href="/wiki/Literary_criticism" title="Literary criticism">criticism</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sociology_of_literature" title="Sociology of literature">Sociology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_magazine" title="Literary magazine">Magazines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Composition_(language)" title="Composition (language)">Composition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_language" title="Literary language">Language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Narrative" title="Narrative">Narrative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_feud" title="Literary feud">Feud</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literary_estate" title="Literary estate">Estate</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below" style="display:block; margin-top:0.3em; border-top:1px solid #aaa; padding-top:0.15em; border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;"> <span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Books-aj.svg_aj_ashton_01.png/16px-Books-aj.svg_aj_ashton_01.png" decoding="async" width="16" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Books-aj.svg_aj_ashton_01.png/24px-Books-aj.svg_aj_ashton_01.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Books-aj.svg_aj_ashton_01.png/32px-Books-aj.svg_aj_ashton_01.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Literature" title="Portal:Literature">Literature portal</a></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Literature" title="Template:Literature"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Literature" title="Template talk:Literature"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Literature" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Literature"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>encyclopedic novel</b> is a genre of complex <a href="/wiki/Literary_fiction" title="Literary fiction">literary fiction</a> which incorporates elements across a wide range of scientific, academic, and literary subjects. The concept was coined by <a href="/wiki/Edward_Mendelson" title="Edward Mendelson">Edward Mendelson</a> in criticism of <i><a href="/wiki/Gravity%27s_Rainbow" title="Gravity's Rainbow">Gravity's Rainbow</a></i> by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon" title="Thomas Pynchon">Thomas Pynchon</a>, defined as an <a href="/wiki/Encyclopedia" title="Encyclopedia">encyclopedia</a>-like attempt to "render the full range of knowledge and beliefs of a national culture, while identifying the ideological perspectives from which that culture shapes and interprets its knowledge".<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In more general terms, the encyclopedic novel is a long, complex work of fiction that incorporates extensive information (which is sometimes fictional itself), often from specialized disciplines of science and the humanities.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Mendelson's essays examine the encyclopedic tendency in the history of literature, considering the <i><a href="/wiki/Divine_Comedy" title="Divine Comedy">Divine Comedy</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Don_Quixote" title="Don Quixote">Don Quixote</a></i>, <i><a href="/wiki/Goethe%27s_Faust" title="Goethe's Faust">Faust</a></i>, and <i><a href="/wiki/Moby-Dick" title="Moby-Dick">Moby-Dick</a></i>, with an emphasis on the modern <i><a href="/wiki/Ulysses_(novel)" title="Ulysses (novel)">Ulysses</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Gravity%27s_Rainbow" title="Gravity's Rainbow">Gravity's Rainbow</a></i>. Commonly cited examples of encyclopedic novels in the <a href="/wiki/Postmodern_literature" title="Postmodern literature">postmodern</a> period include, in addition to Pynchon, <a href="/wiki/Richard_Powers" title="Richard Powers">Richard Powers</a>' <i><a href="/wiki/The_Gold_Bug_Variations" title="The Gold Bug Variations">The Gold Bug Variations</a></i> (1991), <a href="/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace" title="David Foster Wallace">David Foster Wallace</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Infinite_Jest" title="Infinite Jest">Infinite Jest</a></i> (1996), and <a href="/wiki/Don_DeLillo" title="Don DeLillo">Don DeLillo</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Underworld_(DeLillo_novel)" class="mw-redirect" title="Underworld (DeLillo novel)">Underworld</a></i> (1997).<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Other literary critics have explored the concept since, attempting to understand the function and effect of "encyclopedic" narratives, and coining the related terms <a href="/wiki/Systems_novel" title="Systems novel">systems novel</a><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Maximalism" title="Maximalism">maximalist</a> novel.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Mendelson">Mendelson</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Mendelson"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Mendelson put forward the concept of the encyclopedic novel in two essays on <i>Gravity's Rainbow</i> ("Encyclopedic Narrative"<sup id="cite_ref-em-en_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-em-en-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and "Gravity's Encyclopedia"<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>). Mendelson described such novels as works created by an <b>encyclopedic author</b>, but clarified that some authors like <a href="/wiki/Shakespeare" class="mw-redirect" title="Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a> or <a href="/wiki/Pushkin" class="mw-redirect" title="Pushkin">Pushkin</a> spread encyclopedic elements across a wider collective body of work rather than a single <a href="/wiki/Epic_(genre)" title="Epic (genre)">epic</a> masterpiece, while others might emulate the genre with mock-encyclopedias of purely fictional information (as with <i><a href="/wiki/Gulliver%27s_Travels" title="Gulliver's Travels">Gulliver's Travels</a></i>) or otherwise fail to encompass the necessary breadth to fit Mendelson's definition (as with <i><a href="/wiki/War_and_Peace" title="War and Peace">War and Peace</a></i>). Mendelson also ascribed encyclopedic authors a nationalistic or patriotic function as codifiers of a single national culture that their work later comes to define, for example the <i>Comedy</i> for Florence and Italy, <i>Don Quixote</i> for Spain, <i>Moby Dick</i> for the United States (compare <a href="/wiki/Great_American_Novel" title="Great American Novel">Great American Novel</a>), and <i>Ulysses</i> for Ireland. Encyclopedic authors are unique to their culture of origin, such that a culture cannot produce more than a single such author without one eclipsing and replacing the other, as Shakespeare did to <a href="/wiki/Chaucer" class="mw-redirect" title="Chaucer">Chaucer</a> in England. Mendelson nonetheless distinguishes <i>Gravity's Rainbow</i> as self-reflexively proclaiming a new <a href="/wiki/Globalize" class="mw-redirect" title="Globalize">globalized</a> culture of data and information in place of the geopolitical divisions that defined previous works. </p><p>Encyclopedic novels include "the full account of at least one technology or science" and the display of "an encyclopedia of literary styles, ranging from the most primitive and anonymous levels ... to the most esoteric of high styles".<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Their closest inspiration is frequently the <a href="/wiki/Epic_poem" class="mw-redirect" title="Epic poem">epic poem</a> or <a href="/wiki/Christian_Bible" class="mw-redirect" title="Christian Bible">Christian Bible</a>, culminating in an encyclopedic concern with statecraft in depicting some sort of community or "City" established by the protagonists. Mendelson notes that there is often a short but significant interval between the era portrayed in the novel and the era of the novel's writing (as in, for example, <a href="/wiki/James_Joyce" title="James Joyce">James Joyce</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Ulysses_(novel)" title="Ulysses (novel)">Ulysses</a></i>, and <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Pynchon" title="Thomas Pynchon">Thomas Pynchon</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Gravity%27s_Rainbow" title="Gravity's Rainbow">Gravity's Rainbow</a></i>). Mendelson states that "[b]ecause they are the products of an epic in which the world's knowledge is larger than any one person can encompass, they necessarily make extensive use of <a href="/wiki/Synecdoche" title="Synecdoche">synecdoche</a>". Orderly plot structures are often absent. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Other_perspectives">Other perspectives</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Other perspectives"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>There has been considerable debate about the nature and function of the encyclopedic novel since Mendelson's exposition of the concept. Hillary A. Clark attributes to this type of discourse the importance of ordering the information which the writer discovers and retrieves.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Moreover, Clark points out that encyclopedic texts have a long history, from the Renaissance <i><a href="/wiki/Divine_Comedy" title="Divine Comedy">Divine Comedy</a></i> of <a href="/wiki/Dante" class="mw-redirect" title="Dante">Dante</a> to <a href="/wiki/Ezra_Pound" title="Ezra Pound">Ezra Pound</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Modernist" class="mw-redirect" title="Modernist">modernist</a> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Cantos" title="The Cantos">The Cantos</a></i>. She explains that the urge to order the sum of all knowledge grew exponentially during the Renaissance and that by the 20th century we see writers such as Pound and James Joyce (whose <i><a href="/wiki/Finnegans_Wake" title="Finnegans Wake">Finnegans Wake</a></i> is an example of an encyclopedic novel) simply recycling narratives. The encyclopedist's essential job regardless of the type of discourse, is to gather, recycle, and restate. The encyclopedic writer "returns to the role of the medieval scribe … reading and copying the already known, the popular, as well as the esoteric," and hence the encyclopedic novel assumes an almost "anti-creative" function.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The illusion of <a href="/wiki/Encyclopedism" title="Encyclopedism">encyclopedism</a> experienced by the reader of such a novel might represent the author's exploration of the assumptions and practices embodied in the production of a real encyclopedia. Along these lines, a <a href="/wiki/Post-structuralist" class="mw-redirect" title="Post-structuralist">post-structuralist</a> analysis of the encyclopedic novel sees it as critical of encyclopedism,<sup id="cite_ref-Letzler,_Paradox,_2_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Letzler,_Paradox,_2-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the ostensible goal of which is to capture the sum of all human knowledge. This critique suggests that the encyclopedic project is "tainted by its association with master narratives"<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and that it reinforces the "illusion of a totalizing system"<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> of knowledge. Encyclopedic novels in this view are commentaries on the limits of such narratives and systems. Given that the aura of encyclopedism in a work of fiction is necessarily an illusion, it points to a failure—a "failure" which may align with a novelistic intent to "highlight the illusory basis of 'total knowledge'".<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From this perspective, encyclopedic fiction suggests that "we should not systematically encyclopedize but seek more 'open' approaches to knowledge".<sup id="cite_ref-Letzler,_Paradox,_2_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Letzler,_Paradox,_2-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On the other hand, <a href="/wiki/Gustave_Flaubert" title="Gustave Flaubert">Gustave Flaubert</a>'s encyclopedic <i><a href="/wiki/Bouvard_et_P%C3%A9cuchet" title="Bouvard et Pécuchet">Bouvard et Pécuchet</a></i> appears to achieve an opposite goal: in his relentless encyclopedic presentation of "facts and theories", the two main characters, Bouvard and Pécuchet, appear to be so absorbed in a world of knowledge, of having to gain knowledge, of needing to put knowledge to practical purpose, that Flaubert appears to suggest the civilization they inhabit lacks creativity and art.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>While an encyclopedia is a factual reference work, a novel stands in opposition to it as a "literary <i>nonreferential</i> narrative".<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> One critical review questions why a novelist would paradoxically reference a fictional universe, and what literary purpose is served by the proliferation of the "junk text" that is often a carrier of the encyclopedic conceit. When excessive real-world data is presented to the reader, the author's purpose is unclear: those readers who already know the material will find it superfluous, and those who do not know it may find that it adds nothing of interest to the text. Giving examples of "junk text" in encyclopedic fiction, the review cites "the pseudo-scientific <a href="/wiki/Cetology" title="Cetology">cetology</a> chapter" in <i><a href="/wiki/Moby-Dick" title="Moby-Dick">Moby-Dick</a></i> and "minor-character chatter about art and economics" in <a href="/wiki/William_Gaddis" title="William Gaddis">William Gaddis</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Recognitions" title="The Recognitions">The Recognitions</a></i> (1955) and <i><a href="/wiki/J_R" title="J R">J R</a></i> (1975). Yet, a defining characteristic of the encyclopedic novel is the presentation of unwanted or unnecessary information. Such writing "terminate[s] focused attention", and is in danger of boring the reader.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> One view of the encyclopedic novel's method, therefore, is that it requires the reader to practice modulating their attention to the text, bringing more consciousness to the act of filtering the important from the tangential.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Encyclopedic novels such as <i>Infinite Jest</i> or <i><a href="/wiki/House_of_Leaves" title="House of Leaves">House of Leaves</a></i> include extensive and sometimes nonsensical <a href="/wiki/Footnote" class="mw-redirect" title="Footnote">footnotes</a> referencing a variety of in-universe and out-of-universe subjects, thus directly adopting the conventions of academic writing while also creating a layer of "cruft" that the reader must actively parse in pursuit of the core narrative.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Non-fiction_novel" title="Non-fiction novel">Non-fiction novel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_epic" title="National epic">National epic</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width" style="column-width: 30em;"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-em-en-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-em-en_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-em-en_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMendelson1976" class="citation journal cs1">Mendelson, Edward (December 1976). "Encyclopedic Narrative: From Dante to Pynchon". <i>MLN</i>. <b>91</b> (6): <span class="nowrap">1267–</span>1275. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2907136">10.2307/2907136</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2907136">2907136</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=MLN&rft.atitle=Encyclopedic+Narrative%3A+From+Dante+to+Pynchon&rft.volume=91&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E1267-%3C%2Fspan%3E1275&rft.date=1976-12&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F2907136&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F2907136%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.aulast=Mendelson&rft.aufirst=Edward&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEncyclopedic+novel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Edward_Mendelson" title="Edward Mendelson">Mendelson</a>, "Encyclopedic Narrative", 1269. Quoted in Herman.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Letzler, 304</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Burn, Stephen J. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/4235/">Abstract.</a> <i>"At the edges of perception": William Gaddis and the encyclopedic novel from Joyce to David Foster Wallace.</i> 2001, doctoral thesis, Durham University.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">LeClair, Tom, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/artofexcessmaste00lecl"><i>The Art of Excess: Mastery in Contemporary American Fiction</i></a> University of Illinois Press, 1989.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Ercolino, Stefano, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=RBmiAwAAQBAJ&q=ercolino+maximalist+novel"><i>The Maximalist Novel: From Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow to Roberto Bolano's 2666.</i></a> Bloomsbury, 2014</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMendelson1976" class="citation book cs1">Mendelson, Edward (1976). "Gravity's Encyclopedia". In Levine, George; David Leverenz (eds.). <i>Mindful Pleasures: Essays on Thomas Pynchon</i>. Little, Brown. pp. <span class="nowrap">161–</span>95.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Gravity%27s+Encyclopedia&rft.btitle=Mindful+Pleasures%3A+Essays+on+Thomas+Pynchon&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E161-%3C%2Fspan%3E95&rft.pub=Little%2C+Brown&rft.date=1976&rft.aulast=Mendelson&rft.aufirst=Edward&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEncyclopedic+novel" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Edward_Mendelson" title="Edward Mendelson">Mendelson</a>, "Gravity's Encyclopedia". Quoted in Boswell</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Clark, 99; For Mendelson see note 1, 108</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Clark, 95, 105</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Letzler,_Paradox,_2-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Letzler,_Paradox,_2_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Letzler,_Paradox,_2_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Letzler, "Paradox", 2</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Rasula, Jed. "Textual Indigence in the Archive." <i>Postmodern Culture</i> (May 1999). Quoted in Letzler, "Paradox", 2</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Herman, Luc and Petrus van Ewijk. "Gravity's Encyclopedia Revisited: The Illusion of a Totalizing System in Gravity's Rainbow." <i>English Studies</i> 90.2 (April 2009): 167–179. Quoted in Letzler, "Paradox", 2</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Herman</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bersani, 143</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Letzler, 305, quoting Dorrit Cohn with added emphasis</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Letzler, 304–308</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Letzler, 309 <i>et seq</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Letzler, p. 308-309</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Bersani, Leo. "Flaubert's Encyclopedism". <i>Novel: A Forum on Fiction</i>. 21:⅔ (Winter – Spring, 1988): 140–146</li> <li>Boswell, Marshall. "Introduction: David Foster Wallace and 'The Long Thing'". <i>Studies in the Novel</i> 44:3 (2012): 263–266. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fsdn.2012.0033">10.1353/sdn.2012.0033</a></li> <li>Clark, Hillary A. "Encyclopedic Discourse". <i>Sub-stance</i> 21.1 (1992): 95–110.</li> <li>Herman, Luc. "Encyclopedic novel". <i>Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory</i>. Routledge, 2010. 137–38.</li> <li>Letzler, David. "Encyclopedic novels and the cruft of fiction: <i>Infinite Jest'</i>s endnotes". <i>Studies in the Novel</i> 44:3 (2012): 304–324. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1353%2Fsdn.2012.0036">10.1353/sdn.2012.0036</a></li> <li>Letzler, David. "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.academia.edu/6045215/The_Paradox_of_Encyclopedic_Fiction">The Paradox of Encyclopedic Fiction</a>". 2012. Presented at <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://nemla.org/convention/2012/">NeMLA 2012</a>.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMendelson1976" class="citation journal cs1">Mendelson, Edward (December 1976). "Encyclopedic Narrative: From Dante to Pynchon". <i>MLN</i>. <b>91</b> (6): <span class="nowrap">1267–</span>1275. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F2907136">10.2307/2907136</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2907136">2907136</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=MLN&rft.atitle=Encyclopedic+Narrative%3A+From+Dante+to+Pynchon&rft.volume=91&rft.issue=6&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E1267-%3C%2Fspan%3E1275&rft.date=1976-12&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F2907136&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F2907136%23id-name%3DJSTOR&rft.aulast=Mendelson&rft.aufirst=Edward&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEncyclopedic+novel" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMendelson1976" class="citation book cs1">Mendelson, Edward (1976). "Gravity's Encyclopedia". In Levine, George; David Leverenz (eds.). <i>Mindful Pleasures: Essays on Thomas Pynchon</i>. Little, Brown. pp. <span class="nowrap">161–</span>95.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Gravity%27s+Encyclopedia&rft.btitle=Mindful+Pleasures%3A+Essays+on+Thomas+Pynchon&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E161-%3C%2Fspan%3E95&rft.pub=Little%2C+Brown&rft.date=1976&rft.aulast=Mendelson&rft.aufirst=Edward&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEncyclopedic+novel" class="Z3988"></span> <ul><li>Reprinted in <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMendelson1986" class="citation book cs1">Mendelson, Edward (1986). "Gravity's Encyclopedia". In Bloom, Harold (ed.). <i>Thomas Pynchon's </i>Gravity's Rainbow<i>: Modern Critical Interpretations</i>. New Haven: Chelsea House. pp. <span class="nowrap">29–</span>52.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Gravity%27s+Encyclopedia&rft.btitle=Thomas+Pynchon%27s+Gravity%27s+Rainbow%3A+Modern+Critical+Interpretations&rft.place=New+Haven&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E29-%3C%2Fspan%3E52&rft.pub=Chelsea+House&rft.date=1986&rft.aulast=Mendelson&rft.aufirst=Edward&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AEncyclopedic+novel" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Cohn, Dorrit. <i>The Distinction of Fiction</i>. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins UP, 1999.</li> <li>Wilson, Robert Anton. <a href="/wiki/The_Illuminatus!_Trilogy" title="The Illuminatus! Trilogy"><i>The Illuminatus Trilogy</i></a>. Dell, 1975.</li> <li>—— <a href="/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_Cat_Trilogy" title="Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy">The Shrödinger's Cat Trilogy</a>. Dell, 1988.</li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&oldid=1268923440">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Encyclopedic_novel&oldid=1268923440</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Encyclopedic_and_systems_novels" title="Category:Encyclopedic and systems novels">Encyclopedic and systems novels</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Novel_forms" title="Category:Novel forms">Novel forms</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Descriptive_technique" title="Category:Descriptive technique">Descriptive technique</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Encyclopedism" title="Category:Encyclopedism">Encyclopedism</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1970s_neologisms" title="Category:1970s neologisms">1970s neologisms</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:1976_in_literature" title="Category:1976 in literature">1976 in literature</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Non-fiction_novels" title="Category:Non-fiction novels">Non-fiction novels</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_sidebar_with_the_child_parameter" title="Category:Pages using sidebar with the child parameter">Pages using sidebar with the child parameter</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 12 January 2025, at 05:08<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. 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