Five notable--and ambitious--debut novels

At The Barnes & Noble Book Blog Melissa Albert tagged five notable--and ambitious--debut novels, including:V., by Thomas Pynchon.

This time- and country-hopping novel, bristling with disparate narratives and eccentrically named characters, loosely coalesces around the search for a constantly morphing creature/concept that goes by the name of V. It opens on grade-A schlemiel Benny Profane, fresh