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Thomas Pynchon

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Thomas Pynchon


Born
in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York, The United States
May 08, 1937

Website

Genre
Literary Fiction, Classics

Influences
Richard Fariña, T.S. Eliot, Vladimir Nabokov, Kafka, Henry Miller, Jac ...more


Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and nonfiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including history, music, science, and mathematics. For Gravity's Rainbow, Pynchon won the 1973 U.S. National Book Award for Fiction.

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 ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.16 · 1,749,796 ratings · 73,441 reviews · 48 distinct works • Similar authors
The Crying of Lot 49
3.69 avg rating — 97,090 ratings — published 1966 — 175 editions
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Gravity’s Rainbow
4.01 avg rating — 48,090 ratings — published 1973 — 139 editions
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Inherent Vice
3.80 avg rating — 38,252 ratings — published 2009 — 76 editions
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V.
3.97 avg rating — 25,294 ratings — published 1963 — 29 editions
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Vineland
3.76 avg rating — 17,033 ratings — published 1990 — 15 editions
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Mason & Dixon
4.14 avg rating — 12,545 ratings — published 1997 — 2 editions
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Bleeding Edge
3.62 avg rating — 14,154 ratings — published 2013 — 2 editions
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Against the Day
4.05 avg rating — 10,214 ratings — published 2006 — 52 editions
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Slow Learner
3.53 avg rating — 5,413 ratings — published 1984 — 40 editions
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Shadow Ticket
3.62 avg rating — 3,924 ratings — published 2025 — 11 editions
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More books by Thomas Pynchon…

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Quotes by Thomas Pynchon  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Every weirdo in the world is on my wavelength.”
― Thomas Pynchon
2484 likes
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“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.”
― Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow
tags: paranoia, proverbs, wit
1753 likes
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“Life's single lesson: that there is more accident to it than a man can ever admit to in a lifetime and stay sane.”
― Thomas Pynchon, V.
1198 likes
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Polls

What will be our February 2017 Open Pick?

Please take into account the availability, cost, and length of books when voting for them. Remember, if you vote for a book and it wins, you are implicitly promising to read the book and participate in the discussion. The poll will be open through December 31st. (Note: You can change your vote at any time prior to the closing of the poll.) Discussion will begin February 1st.

 
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  1 vote, 3.2%

31 total votes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Hipinion: so, a bookclub? 8 145 May 03, 2007 11:00AM  
UC Berkeley iSchool: What's on the holiday stack? 11 133 Nov 14, 2008 02:19PM  
The Next Best Boo...: We have our JUNE group read WINNERS!! 216 802 Jun 02, 2009 02:58PM  
The Next Best Boo...: New Group--Gravity's Rainbow discussion 2 201 Jun 29, 2009 04:22PM  
The Next Best Boo...: Opening Paragraphs 306 1265 Feb 15, 2010 06:12PM  
SciFi and Fantasy...: What are you reading in March 2010? 86 270 Apr 16, 2010 11:53AM  
Book Buying Addic...: Titles A-Z Game 684 818 Apr 21, 2010 07:20PM  
The Life of a Boo...: Elaine's TBR list 39 126 Jun 06, 2010 04:49AM  
The Seasonal Read...: 10.1 - Stormy Weather 18 197 Jul 24, 2010 07:37AM  


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