Penguin has just released this trailer promoting Thomas Pynchon's new novel, Inherent Vice, and the question everyone's asking is if Pynchon, known for his Salinger-esque hatred of publicity, has come out of hiding to provide the voiceover.

Penguin isn't saying, offering GalleyCat only a "no comment"; the producers of the video, Meerkat, say it "may or may not feature a cameo voiceover by the reclusive author himself".

Pynchon might hate to be photographed, but he poked fun at himself with a cameo in the Simpsons (he appeared with a paper bag over his head but said a few lines). The trailer's voiceover ends on a similarly wry note: "At that point it gets sort of peculiar. Maybe you'll just want to read the book. Inherent Vice. Penguin Press. $27.95 ... $27.95 – really? That used to be like, three weeks of groceries, man. What year is this again?"

And the two voices sound pretty similar to me. So I think it could well be him. New York magazine reckons it "totally sounds like it might possibly be him, maybe". So what do you think?