Thomas Pynchon

V.

originally published:
Philadelphia
1963

We offered this copy, not price-clipped and without any spine fading, in our Catalog 119.

awards:

  • National Book Award for Fiction(1974)
  • Burgess 99(1973)
  • First Book(1963)
  • Time Magazine 100 Novels(1966)
  • Time Magazine 100 Novels(1973)

reference info

bio notes:
born: 5/8/1937
born as: Thomas Pynchon
nationality: USA

American novelist and short-story writer whose works combine black humor and fantasy to depict human alienation in the chaos of modern society. - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature

Collecting tips:

Pynchon's first three books are by far his most collectible. His first, V. (1963) shows up with some frequency, but is usually either spine-faded, or price-clipped (the price is placed well into the front flap, so clipping it leaves an even more than usually unsightly loss), or both. There also exists an Advance Reading Copy in wrappers that seems to wear easily - we look for copies that are relatively square, as it seems to cock or slant very easily. The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) is frustrating in that it is usually found in pretty nice shape, but almost never in truly fine condition. We have also noted that the jacket on the book is often very slightly shorter than the book itself, probably a manufacturing glitch, so we wouldn't necessarily reject such a copy out of hand. Gravity's Rainbow (1973) seems like the book this author will be best remembered for, and seems to have become increasingly difficult to find in the right condition. This title too tends to fade at the spine, although a little more subtly than V.. A proof of this exists and has long been touted as a great rarity, and indeed it is genuinely scarce, although customers for it also seem to be pretty uncommon.

Email us to request a printed copy of our catalog of Thomas Pynchon Rare Books and First Editions (or download it via the link as a 2.97 MB pdf file). We also offer a comprehensive Thomas Pynchon Bibliography and Price Guide.