Thomas Pynchon is not, despite popular rumour, the Unabomber. He is not a Branch Davidian, he is not a bag-lady called Wanda Tinasky and he claims not to be J. D. Salinger either. He is probably the author of a book of short stories and five novels, and on the 21st of November 2006 he published a sixth: Against the Day. Pynchon once remarked to a friend that “every weirdo in the world is on my wavelength”. It is certainly true that the mythology of this author exists apart from, and sometimes not even in parallel with, his literary reputation.