Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, science, and mathematics. For ''Gravity's Rainbow'', Pynchon won the 1974 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novelists.

Hailing from Long Island, Pynchon served two years in the United States Navy and earned an English degree from Cornell University. After publishing several short stories in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began composing the novels for which he is best known: ''V.'' (1963), ''The Crying of Lot 49'' (1966), and ''Gravity's Rainbow'' (1973). Rumors of a historical novel about Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon had circulated as early as the 1980s; the novel, ''Mason & Dixon'', was published in 1997 to critical acclaim. Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson adapted Pynchon's novels ''Vineland'' (1990) and ''Inherent Vice'' (2009) into feature films, ''One Battle After Another'' and ''Inherent Vice'' respectively. Pynchon is notoriously reclusive from the media; few photographs of him have been published, and rumors about his location and identity have circulated since the 1960s. Pynchon's most recent novel, ''Shadow Ticket'', is expected to be published in 2025. Provided by Wikipedia