Catalog 158, G-I
76. GALCHEN, Rivka. Atmospheric Disturbances. NY: FSG (2008). Her first novel, one of the most highly praised of the year, with comparisons to Murakami and Borges, among others. Winner of the William J. Saroyan International Prize for Fiction. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Galchen was selected by The New Yorker as one of their "20 under 40" writers -- the 20 best writers of fiction under the age of 40 -- in 2010. Signed copies of this book are remarkably scarce.
77. GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Faulkner, A Caribbean Writer in A Faulkner 100. [Oxford]: University of Mississippi, 1997. A broadside prose paragraph by Garcia Marquez, about the influence Faulkner had on him, and the effort it took to learn how to not imitate him. Written for and created to be laid into the University of Mississippi's Centennial Exhibition catalog, which was printed in an edition of 500 numbered and 26 lettered copies, to coincide with Faulkner's 100th birthday. According to one source, only about 200 copies of the broadsides were produced. An unnumbered catalog is included here, with the broadside laid in. The original (Spanish language) issue of the piece is pictured as Item 100 in the catalog. Both the catalog and the broadside (6 3/4" x 10 3/4") are fine. With erratum slip laid in. An uncommon and important original work by the Colombian Nobel Prize winner which, as the catalog says, "locates the fictional lands of Yoknapatawpha and Macondo on the same cultural and geographic map."
78. GARDNER, John. Grendel. NY: Knopf, 1971. Probably Gardner's best-known novel, a retelling of the Beowulf saga from the point of view of the monster, Grendel. Chosen by Pringle as one of the hundred best fantasy novels of the postwar era and the book that assured Gardner's literary reputation even before his nomination for the National Book Award for Nickel Mountain and his winning the National Book Critics Circle Award for October Light. Narrow strip of sunning to the board edges; otherwise fine in a fine, unfaded dust jacket.
79. GORDON, Jaimy. Shamp of the City-Solo. Providence: Treacle Press, 1974. The first book by the National Book Award-winning author of Lord of Misrule. One of 950 copies in wrappers of 1000 total. Inscribed by Gordon. With an autograph note signed by the author laid in; Gordon has written her note on the bottom of a letter from the publisher presenting this copy and announcing it as the first publication of Treacle Press. The book is near fine in wrappers; the note is also near fine.
80. (GRAFTON, Sue). "Miss Arna Died" in Southern California Lit Scene, Vol. 1, No. 3. Long Beach: Robson, 1971. A two-page story by Grafton in this regional literary magazine. An early publication by Grafton -- after she had published her first book, Keziah Dane, but before she started the series of bestselling and award-winning mysteries for which she is best-known. Minor sunning and corner crease; shallow vertical fold; corrections to publication information on two pages; still about near fine in stapled wrappers.
81. HARRISON, Jim. The Great Leader. NY: Grove (2011). The advance reading copy of his latest novel, Harrison's take on the detective story. Fine in pictorial wrappers (marked "Uncorrected Proof" by the publisher). Uncommon advance issue.
82. HEINEMANN, Larry. Cooler by the Lake. NY: FSG (1992). The third book by the National Book Award-winning author of Paco's Story. Inscribed by Heinemann to another National Book Award-winning author in the year of publication: "___ -- I know you're not supposed to say this about your own work -- but this may well be funniest book I ever read. I finally got revenge on my asshole neighbors. Always the best, Larry." Fine in a fine dust jacket. A great inscription, and an excellent literary association copy.
83. HELPRIN, Mark. A Soldier of the Great War. NY: HBJ (1991). The limited edition. Although the colophon states that the limitation is only 250 numbered copies, this copy is lettered "x." Signed by the author. Fine in a very near fine slipcase with a strip of mild edge sunning. A little-known issue of this limited edition, which is itself quite scarce even in the numbered issue.
84. HEMINGWAY, Ernest. The Torrents of Spring. NY: Scribner, 1926. His first novel, printed in an edition of only 1250 copies. Hemingway began the book while under contract to Boni & Liveright, who had published his first book, the collection of stories In Our Time. Hemingway was dismayed by the lack of commercial success that book had had, blaming it on the publisher's poor promotion and also on the use of blurbs by more famous writers -- most especially Sherwood Anderson, who was then the dean of American letters and Boni & Liveright's bestselling author. Hemingway felt the blurbs were off-putting and hurt, rather than helped, his book. One might also surmise that he chafed under the somewhat condescending implication of the more famous and highly regarded Anderson giving a glowing blurb to the younger, up-and-coming writer. Hemingway was working on The Sun Also Rises at the time and had completed the first draft, but he did not want to take the risk of having it presented so poorly to the world and having it get lost in the shuffle as his first book had. Although he was under contract to Boni & Liveright for two more books, Hemingway contrived a plan to free himself from the obligation: his contract stated that if Boni rejected one of his books, he would be free to terminate the contract and take his writing elsewhere. As such, he conceived of a short, comic novel which would lampoon Sherwood Anderson's most recent book, Dark Laughter, and which would be unpublishable by Boni, thus freeing Hemingway to go elsewhere. Hemingway wrote The Torrents of Spring in a few short weeks in November, 1925 and submitted it to Boni & Liveright where it was promptly, as he had expected, rejected. It was then that Hemingway moved to Scribner's, beginning his long association with the legendary editor Maxwell Perkins. Although The Torrents of Spring begins as a burlesque of Dark Laughter, it succeeds ultimately as a satire of the American cult of maleness, a subject to which Hemingway was no stranger and which would course through his writings for his entire career. F. Scott Fitzgerald later called The Torrents of Spring "the best comic [novel] ever written by an American." Mild foxing to lower edge of text block, and even milder bowing to boards; very near fine in a very good, spine-tanned dust jacket with one spot to the spine, professionally strengthened on verso at the edges and folds.
85. HEMPEL, Amy. The Collected Stories. NY: Scribner (2006). The advance reading copy. Collects Hempel's four previous story collections, with an introduction by Rick Moody. Signed by Hempel. Signed firsts and advance copies are uncommon; signed advance copies doubly so. Fine in wrappers, with publisher's promotional sheet laid in.
86. HERSEY, John. Antonietta. NY: Knopf, 1991. A novel that follows a Stradivarius violin through three centuries. Inscribed by Hersey to another writer and his wife, "who've brightened Cayo Hueso [Key West]." Hersey is most famous for his nonfiction account of the bombing of Hiroshima and its aftermath. This novel was the last book he published in his lifetime: he died in Key West in 1993. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
87. HOAGLAND, Edward. The Peacock's Tail. NY: McGraw-Hill (1965). His third book, a novel. Inscribed by the author. Very good in a very good dust jacket. An early book by this writer whose first novel was a Houghton Mifflin Literary Fellowship Award winner.
88. HOAGLAND, Edward. Notes from the Century Before. NY: Random House (1969). His first book of nonfiction, subtitled "A Journal from British Columbia." A personal recollection of the author's travels, which also touches on the history, both natural and cultural, of the region. Inscribed by the author. Hoagland, whose fiction has won literary awards, is most highly acclaimed as an essayist, and his first book of nonfiction is thus a landmark in his writing career. Boards a bit skewed; very good in a very good, spine-darkened dust jacket with shallow wear to the crown.
89. HOAGLAND, Edward. The Courage of Turtles. NY: Random House (1970). His first collection of essays. Inscribed by the author. Boards skewed, foxing to edges of text block; very good in a very good, somewhat soiled and spine-faded dust jacket with tiny chips at the crown.
90. HOAGLAND, Edward. Walking the Dead Diamond River. NY: Random House (1973). A review copy of his second collection of essays, many of them dealing with the natural world, especially in New England, and including accounts of walks in the Green and White Mountains and a canoe trip in Maine. Inscribed by the author. Boards a bit skewed, thus a very good copy in a dust jacket with a 1 1/2" closed tear at the lower rear panel. With review slip laid in.
91. HOFFMAN, Abbie. Soon To Be a Major Motion Picture. NY: Putnam (1980). A review copy of the hardcover issue of this book, with review slip and author photo laid in. A memoir by the radical political activist, one of the Chicago 7, a founder of the Yippies, and a major player in most of the events he recounts -- which were some of the defining political events of the 1960s, a decade of substantial political turmoil and upheaval. Fine in a fine dust jacket. The hardcover of this title is somewhat uncommon; as an advance issue it is decidedly scarce.
92. HUGO, Richard. The Triggering Town. NY: Norton (1979). Lectures and essays on poetry and writing by Hugo, an award-winning poet who also directed the writing program at the University of Montana. Inscribed by Hugo: "For Steve [Krauzer]/ fellow poet/ colleague/ glad you came to join us/ Dick." Krauzer, who was also a novelist and a screenwriter, was part of the thriving literary scene in Missoula, Montana that Hugo helped to create in the 1960s and 1970s. A nice association copy. Books inscribed by Hugo are relatively uncommon, and he was an important writer not just as an award-winning poet but as a mentor to a generation of younger writers who passed through Missoula. Fine in a dust jacket with the slightest degree of spine fading, else fine.
93. IRVING, John. The World According to Garp. NY: Dutton (1978). A review copy of his fourth novel, and his breakthrough book, which went into numerous printings, became a multi-million copy bestseller and a National Book Award winner in its paperback release. Basis for the well-received movie. The first printing of Garp was 35,000 copies -- far larger than any of Irving's previous novels but far short of any of the books that came later: his next novel, The Hotel New Hampshire, had a 100,000 copy first printing and since then all his books have had first printings well into six figures. A difficult book to find in fine condition: copies seem to have been handled and read, and generally show substantial wear. This copy is fine in a fine dust jacket, with review slip laid in.
94. IRVING, John. Last Night in Twisted River. NY: Random House (2009). The uncorrected proof copy of Irving's twelfth novel. An apparently read copy; near fine, in wrappers printed with the Random House logo. The proof copy of this title is far less common than the advance reading copy in pictorial wrappers.
95. ISHIGURO, Kazuo. The Remains of the Day. London: Faber and Faber (1989). His third book, winner of the Booker Prize and the book that established Ishiguro as a major literary figure in contemporary England. Basis for the 1993 film with Anthony Hopkins that was nominated for eight Academy Awards. Signed by the author. Fine in a fine dust jacket. A very nice copy of his breakthrough book.