Claim: Thomas Pynchon died before composing novels.
Evidence: After publishing several short stories in the late 1950s and early 1960s , he began composing the novels for which he is best known : V. -LRB- 1963 -RRB- , The Crying of Lot 49 -LRB- 1966 -RRB- , Gravity 's Rainbow -LRB- 1973 -RRB- , and Mason & Dixon -LRB- 1997 -RRB-.