Thomas Pynchon has long been in the running for the Nobel Prize for Literature, but he didn't get it this time either. But fans are nonetheless celebrating, as the US author has now published a new novel – his first in 12 years. New York (dpa) – Very few people are as famous and yet as unknown as Thomas Pynchon, the US author who has millions of fans but is rarely seen in person. He has been tipped for the Nobel Prize for Literature over the decades as one of the most important contemporary English-language writers. Nonetheless, he has managed to take anonymity to extremes rarely seen in these social media-saturated times. Pynchon lives a completely secluded life, gives virtually no interviews, does not attend award ceremonies and certainly permits no photography. Born in 1937 into a New England Puritan family on Long Island near New York, Pynchon is said to have studied physics and literature, served in the Navy and written for a company newspaper. He lives with his wife, a literary agent, on New York's Upper West Side and has a child – though none of this has ever been confirmed by Pynchon himself. Ninth novel, after 12 years What we do know is that Pynchon, said to be 88, published eight novels between 1963 and 2013. They were greatly successful, from "V" and "Gravity's Rainbow" to "Against the Day." Some 12 years on since his most recent novel, his ninth is "Shadow Ticket," released last week. Pynchon's work "always challenges the limits of our perception," says Rowohlt publisher Nicola Bartels. With "Shadow Ticket," Pynchon again shows his unmistakable style and remarkable ability to analyse social issues with a sharp, humorous and profound eye. The work is set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1932, bringing us back to the US in the midst of the Great Depression. Prohibition is about to be repealed. Al Capone is in jail and private detective Hicks McTaggart takes on a routine job, to locate the heiress of a cheese manufacturer and bring her home. But suddenly he finds himself on an ocean liner and ends up in Hungary. By the time Hicks catches up with the woman he is hunting for, he has found himself "entangled with Nazis, Soviet agents, British counterspies, swing musicians, practitioners of the paranormal, outlaw motorcyclists, and the troubles that come with each of them, none of which Hicks is qualified, forget about being paid, to deal with," says publisher Penguin. Pynchon never makes it easy for the reader "Shadow Ticket" is typical Pynchon in many ways. The story twists and turns, with ever-changing minor characters, making for a complex read. He builds entire cathedrals out of language, only to tear them down completely a few pages later. The puzzle is an essential part of the process. "Figuring out what it is like to read Pynchon is what it is like to read Pynchon. You're never done with it," author Jonathan Lethem once told the New York Times. Fans of the writer are busy enjoying his work and in the US, some even gathered at bookshops to be among the first readers at midnight when it was released. They were delighted. But critics had a harder time with "Shadow Ticket." The book has a somewhat hectic feel to it and the unfamiliar language means you have to fight your way through it, sometimes reading passages over and over, which can be rewarding and enjoyable but occasionally frustrating too. "Shadow Ticket" is definitely not a book for Pynchon beginners, but it sure is a feast for fans. The following information is not intended for publication dpa cah xxde arw coh
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