Claim: Thomas Pynchon published several fictional stories.

The Crying of Lot 49 is a novella by Thomas Pynchon , first published in 1965 . The shortest of Pynchon 's novels , it is about a woman , Oedipa Maas , possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies , Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero -LRB- or Tristero -RRB- . The former actually existed and was the first firm to distribute postal mail ; the latter is Pynchon 's invention . The novel is often classified as a notable example of postmodern fiction . Time included the novel in its `` TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005 '' .