THE NEW YORK TIMES EXCERPT UNVEILS THE PASSENGER, AFTER A SIXTEEN-YEARS WAIT

*The front page of The New York Times section featuring The Passenger.*

The Passenger, advance excerpt in The New York Times.

The New York Times Company, New York, 2022.

Advance excerpt in The New York Times “Arts & Leisure” section, October 16, 2022. The section title page is mostly devoted to the forthcoming novel, showing an illustration by Patrick Svensson, who also provided the inside illustrations, and stating: “The Passenger An excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s new novel, his first in 16 years”. The excerpt appears on pages 14-17. Page 18 features a review of The Passenger and Stella Maris by Alexandra Alter, including a photo of McCarthy by Beowulf Sheehan.

CONDITION: a very good example.

PROVENANCE: this copy was a gift from my friend and prominent McCarthy collector, Paul Ford.

Issued on October 16, 2022.

This advance excerpt preceded the first trade edition by nine days. For the past twenty years, announcements had often been made that the novel was completed and would be released soon. Additionally, revelations about its content had leaked periodically. The Santa Fe Institute hosted a reading of The Passenger in 2015. Moreover, a few people know that Picador, which published the novel first edition in England, distributed 100 softcover advance reading copies of the novel to attendees at a promotional event on October 2, 2022. But ultimately, this excerpt in The New York Times was, as far as I know, the first time that finished, authorized pages of the novel were offered to a large audience.

COLLECTING TOPICS: although no copies are currently listed online, it wouldn’t be particularly difficult to find one. Some collectors purchased multiple copies of The Times and occasionally offer them for sale. I have seen three or four copies selling in the range of $60 to $100. However, you may find copies for a few dollars elsewhere outside of the online market.