V. remains a popular literary classic by one of America's great modernists. Through a cryptic entry in his father's dairy, Henry Stencil becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of V., in a quest that leads him through the dizzying world of characters. V. is a wild, macabre tale of the twentieth century and of two men (one looking for something he has lost; the other never had too much to lose and isn't looking for it)-and V., the unknown lady of the title, who may be somebody's mother, somebody's mistress, or the world gone mad with despair.