Pynchon and the NBA

[Tore Rye Andersen]

The press has been singling out Cormac McCarthy's and Pynchon's absence from 
the list of this year's NBA finalists, and Los Angeles Times even quoted one 
of the judges, Marianne Wiggins, for saying this about AtD: "It was patently 
obvious it wasn't a contender."

But is Pynchon's absence from the list really all that strange? The official 
rules stipulate that "Judges must receive books, bound galleys, or bound 
manuscripts no later than August 15, 2006", and based on what we've heard 
elsewhere, Penguin Press didn't start sending out galleys until last week. 
So is it patently obvious that AtD wasn't a contender because the judges 
hated it, or is it patently obvious that it wasn't a contender because they 
never received a coveted personalized galley?

So no NBA for Pynchon this year - and perhaps no NBA for him next year as 
well: Another rule states that: "Any United States publisher may enter books 
with scheduled publication dates between December 1, 2005 and November 30, 
2006". If these dates also hold true for next year, then 'Against the Day' 
doesn't fall into the December 1, 2006-November 30, 2007-bracket. So one 
thing is that the NBA has probably never forgiven Pynchon for his Irwin 
Corey-stunt back in the 70s, another thing is that it seems physically 
impossible for AtD to be a contender.

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