The Friday Book - Softcover

The Friday Book: Essays and Other Nonfiction + The Development [ARC]

Soft cover. Zustand: Near Fine. No Jacket. 1st Edition. First Perigee trade edition, 1st printing. [ + I include gratis the Advance Reading Copy in paperback of Barth's The Development, from 2008.] Bright, clean & tight copies, unread, in Near Fine condition. "Available for the first time in paperback, THE FRIDAY BOOK is John Barth's first work of nonfiction--'an arrangement of essays, and occasional lectures, accumulated over thirty years or so of writing, teaching, and teaching writing.' Writing with the wit, verve, and erudition his readers have come to know and love, Barth glances into his crystal ball to speculate upon the future of literature and fictitious history, Maryland crabs, the nature of twin-ness, and activists in the sixties. There are personal reflections, poetic invocations, and literary ruminations such as 'Some Reasons Why I Tell the Stories I Tell the Way I Tell Them Rather Than Some Other Sort of Stories Some Other Way.' In sum, it is Barth at his Barthiest." [publisher copy] "Whether discussing modernism, postmodernism, semiotics, Homer, Cervantes, Borges, blue crabs or osprey nests, Barth demonstrates an enthusiasm for the life of the mind, a joy in thinking (and in expressing those thoughts) that becomes contagious. A reader leaves THE FRIDAY BOOK feeling intellectually fuller, verbally more adept, mentally stimulated, with algebra and fire of his own."--Washington Post. + THE DEVELOPMENT [ARC] "From the iconic Barth come nine darkly comic stories set in a gated community on Maryland's Eastern Shore. In his trademark style--multiple endings, metaphysical musings, breaking the fourth wall--Barth presents a searing indictment of a certain sociological class in the later stages of life, when the worries of advancing age beset characters who are dealing with or anticipating infirmities, burdensome caregiving and wrenching losses. Barth's antic eye for character is undiminished; he fleshes out a spectrum of men and women who run the gamut of professions, political beliefs and financial status, and whose relationships include unwavering marital love, random flirting and adultery. The current(ish) events simmering in the background (the Bush administration's follies, Uganda and Darfur, and several hurricanes) ground the narrative and put the stories into a broader context outside the community's gates. Urbane, discursive and humorous, often bawdy and never sentimental, these stories would be an accessible way for new readers to discover Barth, and his fans, of course, will eat this up."--Publishers Weekly. Pristine paperbacks w/sharp corners & crisp edges, square & tight bindings w/no creases in spine & no jackets as issued. Artikel-Nr. RUB2453

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