Big Books of 2026
Thomas Pynchon

more photos (1)

Thomas Pynchon’s Followers (7,828)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo

Add New
Videos

Thomas Pynchon The Simpsons Book Endorsement
Add a comment

More videos…

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 · 1,713,753 ratings · 72,239 reviews · 48 distinct works • Similar authors
The Crying of Lot 49
3.69 avg rating — 96,728 ratings — published 1966 — 68 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Gravity’s Rainbow
4.01 avg rating — 47,936 ratings — published 1973 — 139 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Inherent Vice
3.80 avg rating — 38,133 ratings — published 2009 — 7 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
V.
3.97 avg rating — 25,243 ratings — published 1963 — 135 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Vineland
3.76 avg rating — 16,725 ratings — published 1990 — 84 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Mason & Dixon
4.14 avg rating — 12,504 ratings — published 1997 — 70 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Bleeding Edge
3.62 avg rating — 14,120 ratings — published 2013 — 61 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Against the Day
4.05 avg rating — 10,191 ratings — published 2006 — 52 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Slow Learner
3.53 avg rating — 5,401 ratings — published 1984 — 40 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
Shadow Ticket
3.64 avg rating — 3,445 ratings — published 2025 — 11 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars
More books by Thomas Pynchon…

Related News

Good news, book nerds! And movie nerds! And TV nerds! It’s time once again for our regular roundup of new and upcoming book-to-screen...
Read more...
297 likes · 0 comments
Hollywood has been mining the world of books for a long time—since 1899, according to some reckonings. The practice has been ramping up in recent...
Read more...
373 likes · 0 comments
  As life’s rich pageant of books passes through Goodreads World Headquarters, we often take note of certain thematic and topical trends...
Read more...
161 likes · 25 comments
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
2485 likes
Like

“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
1751 likes
Like

“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.
1199 likes
Like

Polls

What will be our June 2022 Open Pick?

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 up until the end of April.

 
  3 votes, 50.0%

 
  2 votes, 33.3%

 
  1 vote, 16.7%

6 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
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 1264 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  


Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Thomas to Goodreads.