A seven-month-old St. Louis bookstore will be among just five stores across the U.S. to host a midnight release party tonight for the literary world\u2019s equivalent to a Taylor Swift album: a new novel by Thomas Pynchon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
James Crossley, the co-owner of Leviathan Bookstore<\/a> (3211 South Grand), says the party came about because he was personally excited about the book (Pynchon, he says, was one of the first authors who taught him that serious literature could also be silly) and wanted to treat it like the launch of a mass-market bestseller.<\/p>\n Stay up-to-date with the local arts scene<\/p>\n Subscribe to the weekly St. Louis Arts+Culture newsletter to discover must-attend art exhibits, performances, festivals, and more.<\/p>\n We will never send spam or annoying emails. Unsubscribe anytime.<\/p>\n This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n Shadow Ticket, after all, is the 88-year-old Pynchon\u2019s first release since 2013. The cult-favorite author is having a moment; One Battle After Another, an adaptation of his 1990 novel, Vineland, is one of the biggest movies in the world right now. Yet Pynchon has never given a formal interview; the only photos that have reached the public date back to his school days. His reclusiveness meant there was little advance notice that the book was about to drop\u2014and Crossley thought the long wait made the release even more of an event.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI immediately had the notion that we should open at midnight, because, to me, this is that kind of book,\u201d he says. \u201cThat trend started, I think, with Harry Potter. And I\u2019m like, This is so much more important than Harry Potter, and it deserves that sort of thing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pynchon\u2019s publisher offered some merchandise (tote bags, baseball caps) that bookstores hosting midnight release parties could use in giveaways, and Crossley assumed many would then jump in. As it turns out, though, it\u2019s just two Seattle shops, one in New York City, and one in Columbus, Ohio.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Crossley can\u2019t sell you a copy of Shadow Ticket until midnight, he was able to read a copy of it. (The perks of being a bookseller!) It is, he says, vintage Pynchon\u2013-a manageable size, unlike some of his doorstopper novels, but with the same vibe. \u201cIt very much feels like a book that could have come out of one of the dozen threads in Gravity\u2019s Rainbow,\u201d he says, referencing the author\u2019s 1974 National Book Award winner. And here, there\u2019s a Midwestern age: It begins in 1930s Milwaukee.\u00a0<\/p>\n On Monday night, Crossley hopes to geek out with fellow Pynchon fans and just generally have a good time. In the words of the shop\u2019s Instagram post<\/a>, \u201cWe\u2019ll have refreshments, a special book-themed soundtrack, trivia, and prizes. Best Pynchon-related costume? You get a prize! Person who traveled the farthest to come to the party? You get a prize! Know more than anyone else about the enigmatic 88-year-old who\u2019s given us all a reason to get together? You get a prize!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll be here as long as people want to be here,\u201d says Crossley.<\/p>\n