“Cow Country,” a 540-page satirical novel about a dysfunctional community college, landed with a thud when it came out in April. It has amassed all of two reviews on Amazon in the months since its publication, and has been largely overlooked by critics.

But the book got an unexpected boost this week when one critic floated a theory that the obscure novel was actually written by Thomas Pynchon, the celebrated author who is a subject of fascination to many as much for his reclusive nature as for his pyrotechnic prose.

In an essay on the website for Harper’s Magazine, the critic, Art Winslow, argued that Mr. Pynchon had pulled a sly prank on the literary establishment by publishing “Cow Country” under the pen name Adrian Jones Pearson, partly to prove that no one would bother reading a novel by an unknown writer.

It was a compelling theory, one that seemed in keeping with an author known for his playful high jinks. (Mr. Pynchon has made a cameo appearance on “The Simpsons,” in which he voiced a disguised cartoon version of himself, and narrated a book trailer for his novel “Inherent Vice.”) And thanks to the air of mystery that has long surrounded Mr. Pynchon’s persona, it was given credence by some online.