Thomas Pynchon

Thomas Pynchon, born in 1937 in Glen Cove, Long Island, studied physics and English literature at Cornell University. He subsequently worked for Boeing as a technical writer, producing technical manuals. After the publication of his debut novel, *V.* (1963), he withdrew from public life. His major novels include *Gravity’s Rainbow* (1973), *Vineland* (1990), and *Against the Day* (2006).