New books this week: Thomas Pynchon's first novel in 12 years, and much more

Rejoice, dear readers, and prepare to welcome a publishing event that's almost as rare — and potentially as disorienting — as the emergence of a brood of cicadas . Thomas Pynchon, our literary recluse par excellence, has peeked out from wherever he's been hiding and shared with the world some much-appreciated proof of life: his first new novel since 2013 .

Shadow Ticket promises vintage Pynchon: a madcap mystery set in a discrete historical moment — in this case, the depths of the Great Depression — and beset by virtually every bonkers conspiracy you can conceive of, and many you can't yet. Hicks McTaggart, the private eye unlucky enough to ply this trademark Pynch-topia, can expect his hands full and dance card filling fast, if only he could make out its inscrutable jottings.

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