1. Sources

2. Reception

3. Trivia

4. References

5. Further reading
    Book reviews  Literary analysis 

Plus is Joseph McElroy's fifth novel. Set in some unspecified future, it tells the story of Imp Plus, a disembodied brain controlling IMP, the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, in earth orbit. The novel consists of Imp Plus's thoughts as he tries to comprehend his limited existence, while struggling with language, limited memories, and communicating with Ground Control. The plot is driven by Imp Plus's recall of fragments of his past and of language, his improving comprehension of his present, all while his medical condition gradually deteriorates.

McElroy denies that the novel is science fiction, unless "science" is used in its etymological sense of "knowing".^[1]

The novel was reprinted as an e-book by Dzanc Books in 2014, with an introductory 2012 poem "A Green of its Own Breathing" by Sarah Grindley, dedicated to "Joe McElroy & Imp Plus".

Sources

McElroy acknowledges three technical sources:

• {{cite book|authorlink=Albert L. Lehninger|last=Lehninger|first=Albert L.|title=Bioenergetics|edition=2nd|publisher=Benjamin|year=1973}}
• {{cite book|last=Noback|first=Charles R.|title=The Human Nervous System|publisher=McGraw-Hill|year=1967}}
• {{cite book|last=Weiss|first=Paul|title=Principles of Development|publisher=Hafner|year=1969}}

Reception

Trivia

The accompanying author photograph is the only such author photograph of McElroy sporting a beard.

References

Further reading

Book reviews

• {{cite journal|title=Plus|work=Kirkus Reviews|ref={{harvid}}|year=1976|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joseph-mcelroy-3/plus-2/}}
• {{cite journal|last=Frank|first=Sheldon|title=The Eerie Saga of Imp Plus|work=The National Observer|date=February 26, 1977|page=21|ref=harv}}
• {{cite news|last=Lehmann-Haupt|first=Christopher|title=Books of the Times|work=The New York Times|date=December 27, 1976|page=61|ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal|last=Malin|first=Irving|title=Ultimate patterns|work=The Ontario Review|issue=5|ref=harv|date=Fall–Winter 1976–77|pages=101–03}}
• {{cite news|last=Wood|first=Michael|authorlink=Michael Wood (academic)|title=Putting a brain into space|work=The New York Times Book Review|date=March 20, 1977|page=6|ref=harv}}

Literary analysis

• {{cite journal|last1=Bould|first1=Mark|last2=Vint|first2=Sherryl|title=Of Neural Nets and Brains in Vats: Model Subjects in Galatea 2.2 and Plus|work=Biography|volume=30|issue=1|date=Winter 2007|pages=84–104|jstor=23540600|ref=harv}}
• {{cite journal|title=Language After Humans: On the Disembodied Language of Joseph McElroy's Plus|last=Pulizzi|first=James J.|date=July 2014|volume=41|issue=2|pages=392–409|jstor=10.5621/sciefictstud.41.2.0392|work=Science Fiction Studies|ref=harv}}

The following articles appeared in the Joseph McElroy issue of {{cite book|title=The Review of Contemporary Fiction|volume=X|issue=1|year=1990|postscript=:}}

• {{cite journal|last=Hadas|first=Pamela White|title=Green Thoughts on Being in Charge: Discovering Joseph McElroy's Plus|ref=harv|pages=140–55}}
• {{cite journal|last=Richardson|first=Joan|title=Metaphor Master|ref=harv|pages=156–72}}
• {{cite journal|last=Miller|first=Alicia M.|title=Power and Perception in Plus|ref=harv|pages=172–80}}

In addition, see these general works on McElroy's fiction.

• The Garbage Eaters
• The Garbageman
• The Garbage Pail Kids
• The Garbage Pail Kids Movie
• The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon
• The Garcia Brothers Show
• The Gardella Vampire Chronicles
• The Garden
• The Garden (album)
• The Garden Conservancy
• The Gardener (ballad)
• The Gardeners of America/Men's Garden Clubs of America
• The Gardeners of God
• The Garden International School
• The Garden (journal)
• The Garden (Merril Bainbridge album)
• The Garden Murder Case
• The Garden of Abdul Gasazi
• The Garden of Allah
• The Garden of Allah (1936 film)
• The Garden of Allah (song)
• The Garden of Death
• The Garden of Delights
• The Garden of Earthly Delights (2004 film)
• The Garden of Europe