Thomas PynchonLittle is known about the novelist who has given us `V,’ `The Crying of Lot 49,’ `Gravity’s Rainbow,’ `Vineland’ and `Mason &amp;amp; Dixon,’ other than he’s from Long Island, N.Y., spent some time in the navy and graduated from Cornell.  He has been described as a `mathematician of prose.’ His latest, `Bleeding Edge,’ was published earlier this year. Photo: Cover