Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. ( , ; born May 8, 1937) is an American writer noted for his complex works of postmodern fiction, which are often characterized by dense references to history, popular culture, literature, music, science, and mathematics, as well as by humor and explorations of paranoia. 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). For the latter, Pynchon won the 1974 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. Pynchon followed with the novels ''Vineland'' (1990), ''Mason & Dixon'' (1997), and ''Inherent Vice'' (2009)

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. ''Vineland'' and ''Inherent Vice'' were adapted into respective feature films by Paul Thomas Anderson: ''One Battle After Another'' (2025) and ''Inherent Vice'' (2014). Pynchon's most recent novel, ''Shadow Ticket'', is expected to be published in 2025. Provided by Wikipedia