For RTÉ Arena, Richard Aldous reviews Shadow Ticket by Thomas Pynchon, a crime story set in 1930s Milwaukee - listen above.
It's the 10th novel from the reclusive American literary legend, whose 1990 novel Vineland provided the inspiration for Paul Thomas Anderson's acclaimed movie One Battle After Another. Anderson previously adapted another Pynchon novel, 2009's Inherent Vice, for a 2014 film starring Joaquin Phoenix.
Aldous discusses the considerable mystique that has grown around Pynchon since the publication of his seminal novels V. (1963), The Crying of Lot 49 (1966) and Gravity's Rainbow (1973) - at 88, he has shunned promotional activities for over six decades, save a pair of brief appearances (as himself) on The Simpsons!
Shadow Ticket is published by Penguin. Listen to more from RTÉ Arena here
