Thomas Pynchon

American novelist · United States · On the map · Writers · Born 1937 · age 89

Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. is an American novelist. He is known for his dense, complex works of postmodern fiction, which are distinguished by their paranoid tone, absurd humor, and references to history, art, science, and popular culture. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American novelists.

Thomas Pynchon is read about 2,308 times a day, in 65 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 12 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2013“Paranoia's the garlic in life's kitchen, right, you can never have too much.”In their wordsp. 11Read the whole statement

2009“Charlie really has this, like, obsessive death wish! Yes! he, he wants to be caught, processed, put in a can, not just any can, you dig, it has to be StarKist!”In their wordsp. 119Read the whole statement

2006“Merle's all-night illumination prolonged itself into an inescapable glow that began to keep him awake.”In their wordsp. 65Read the whole statement

“If the U.S. was a person," he later became fond of saying, "and it sat down, Columbus, Ohio would instantly be plunged into darkness”In their wordsp. 66Read the whole statement

“All investigations of Time, however sophisticated or abstract, have at their true base the human fear of mortality.”In their wordsp. 622Read the whole statement

1997“Let me be unambiguous. I prefer not to be photographed.”In their words5 June 1997Phone call to CNN as reported in a CNN articleRead the whole statement

1988MacArthur Fellows ProgramAward1975William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and LettersAward1974National Book AwardAward1964William Faulkner Foundation AwardAward1937Born8 May 1937

People around Thomas

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Media & music

Photos 10

Pynchon, aged 16, in his high school senior portrait

V. (1963)

Pynchon created the "muted post horn" as a symbol for the secret "Trystero" society in The Crying of Lot 49.

Gravity's Rainbow (1973)

Slow Learner (1984)

In their own words 4

Thomas Pynchon

4 statements, newest first

Everybody here drove around like a dedicated loser, expecting moment to moment to get into an accident.
2009 · p. 225, Own words
It was impossible to get a decent meal, or even snack, anywhere, burned flapjacks and vulcanized steaks being as appetizing as things got.
2006 · p. 66, Own words
It went on for a month. Those who had taken it for a cosmic sign cringed beneath the sky each nightfall, imagining ever more extravagant disasters.
2006 · p. 802, Own words

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Awards

MacArthur Fellows Program1988

William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters1975

National Book Award1974

William Faulkner Foundation Award1964

About this person

Pynchon is notoriously reclusive. Few photographs of him have been published, and rumors about his location and identity have circulated since the 1960s.

Country

United States

Where to find them

IMDb

In the same film or series as Thomas

Wilson BethelAlso in Inherent Vice (2014)

Regina HallAlso in One Battle After Another (2025)

Eric RobertsAlso in Inherent Vice (2014)