Thomas Ruggles Pynchon, Jr. (/ˈpɪnˌtʃɒn/, commonly /ˈpɪntʃən/; born May 8, 1937) is an American novelist. A MacArthur Fellow, he is noted for his dense and complex novels. His fiction and nonfiction writings encompass a vast array of subject matter, genres and themes, including (but not limited to) the fields of history, music, science, and mathematics. For Gravity's Rainbow Pynchon won the 1974 U.S.