Thomas Ruggles Pynchon Jr. (/ˈpɪntʃɒn/ PIN-chon,[1][2] commonly /ˈpɪntʃən/ PIN-chən;[3] born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and non-fiction 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