Catalog 93, N-R
309. NAYLOR, Gloria. The Women of Brewster Place. NY: Viking (1984). A review copy of her highly praised first book, a novel constructed in seven stories. Winner of the American Book Award for best first novel of the year, and later the basis for an acclaimed television miniseries. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with trace edgewear, including a very tiny tear at the crown. Publisher's review slip laid in. Quite scarce now, particularly in nice shape.
310. NICHOLS, John. The Sky's the Limit. NY: Norton (1990). Uncorrected proof copy of this environmental manifesto by the author of The Milagro Beanfield War, among others, accompanied by his own photographs, here reproduced in photocopy. Near fine in wrappers.
311. NORDAN, Lewis. Lightning Song. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of the latest novel by the author of Welcome to the Arrow- Catcher Fair, among others. Fine in wrappers.
312. NORMAN, Howard. Born Tying Knots. Ann Arbor: Bear Claw Press (1976). Apparently Norman's first book, a collection of Swampy Cree Naming Stories, told by Samuel Makidemewa'be, and translated and introduced by Norman. Precedes his collection The Wishing Bone Cycle, also published in 1976. Faint pink stains to the lower portions of the pages throughout; some rippling to pages, evidence of having been dampened at one point. Not an especially attractive copy, but the first and only copy we have seen or heard of. Long Gary Snyder blurb. Norman's two novels to date have both been National Book Award nominees.
313. NOVA, Craig. The Universal Donor. Boston/NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. The advance reading copy of his latest novel, his ninth book. Fine in wrappers.
314. NUNN, Kem. Tapping the Source. NY: Delacorte (1984). Nunn's powerful first novel, set in the surfing subculture of Southern California. A nominee for the National Book Award. With a Robert Stone blurb likening the book to a combination of Raymond Chandler and James Crumley. Also has an Elmore Leonard blurb. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with one short, closed tear at the bottom edge of the front panel. Without the remainder speckling to the bottom page edges that is common with this title.
315. OATES, Joyce Carol. The Hungry Ghosts. Los Angeles: Black Sparrow, 1974. The limited edition of this collection of "seven allusive plays." One of 350 numbered copies signed by the author. A few pages opened roughly, otherwise fine in a near fine acetate dust jacket.
316. OATES, Joyce Carol. Man Crazy. (NY): Dutton (1997). The advance reading copy of her new novel. Fine in wrappers.
317. O'BRIEN, Edna. Down by the River. NY: FSG (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of this novel by the author of The Country Girls, among others. Fine in wrappers.
318. O'BRIEN, Kate. Talk of Angels. NY: Hyperion (1995). The uncorrected proof copy of this novel that was first published in 1936 in England as Mary Lavelle and was banned in Ireland at that time because of its frank depiction of lesbianism. This edition was published to coincide with the release of a film version of the novel this past April, and includes an introduction by Mary Gordon. Fine in wrappers.
319. O'BRIEN, Tim. If I Die in a Combat Zone. (n.p.): Delacorte Press (1973). The author's first book, a highly praised memoir of the Vietnam War in which O'Brien uses some of the techniques of fiction to convey the experience with immediacy and power. Very slight fading to the edges of the boards, as is common with this title, otherwise fine in a fine dust jacket and inscribed by the author. An extraordinary copy of one of the scarcest and most sought after first books of the past 30 years.
320. -. Another copy, unsigned. Same slight fading to the edges of the boards, otherwise fine in a very good dust jacket with faint staining to the edges, mostly visible on the verso, and some small chips and tears at the extremities of the spine and corners. Overall, a quite presentable copy of a scarce first book.
321. O'BRIEN, Tim. The Nuclear Age. Portland: Press-22 (1981). A limited edition of an excerpt from O'Brien's work-in-progress at the time, later published with the same title. Of a total edition of 151 copies, this is one of 26 lettered copies signed by the author, the entire hardcover edition. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
322. O'BRIEN, Tim. From How to Tell a True War Story. (n.p.): Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 1987. A broadside excerpt from The Things They Carried, beginning: "You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask." (There was another broadside done in 1992 called "A True War Story" with different text.) One of 150 numbered copies, signed by the author. 10 1/2" x 11". Fine.
323. OFFUTT, Chris. The Same River Twice. NY: Simon & Schuster (1993). The author's second book, a memoir, after a well-received collection of stories that won him a place on the Granta list of the 20 best young American authors. Offutt won the Michener Award in 1990 for his short fiction. Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
324. OFFUT, Chris. The Good Brother. (NY): Simon & Schuster (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of his highly praised third book, first novel. Fine in wrappers.
325. OLDS, Sharon. The Dead and the Living. NY: Knopf, 1984. Her second regularly published book, winner of the Lamont Poetry Award. Signed by the author in the year following publication. Fine in a very good, spine-sunned dust jacket with light edgewear.
326. OLSON, Charles. Mayan Letters. (Palma de Mallorca): Divers Press (1954). Olson's letters to Robert Creeley written while Olson was in the Yucatan. One of approximately 600 copies in French-folded wrappers. Remarkably, this book, in which the letters only hint at the extent to which Olson's experiences and discoveries were shoring up his hypothesis that the escape from "the too-simple westernisms of a `greek culture'" lay at least partly in a "repossess[ing] ... of the Indian past" of America, is virtually the entire written record of that period, at least insofar as he directly refers to the Mayans and his belief that their sculpture and art provided a kind of "concrete poetry" whose rules were very different from those of Western art, and whose form therefore contained implicit lessons for us, if we could but read them. The last line of the last letter perhaps sums up some of the frustrations he felt: "The trouble is, it is very difficult, to be both a poet and, an historian." A provocative and revealing book by this important member of the avant-garde Black Mountain community. Covers are edge darkened and beginning to split at the folds; about very good.
327. O'NAN, Stewart. The Speed Queen. NY: Doubleday (1997). The advance reading copy of his most recent novel, originally to have been called "Dear Stephen King," written in the form of a series of confessional letters by a mass murderer to author Stephen King. Fine in wrappers and signed by the author.
328. ORWELL, George. The English People. London: Collins, 1947. Part of the "Britain in Pictures" series; heavily illustrated and including color plates. Offsetting to endpages; corners bumped; near fine in a very good dust jacket with a long closed edge tear on the rear panel.
329. ORWELL, George. Shooting an Elephant. NY: Harcourt Brace (1950). First American edition of this posthumously published collection of essays, including his famous critical piece, "Politics and the English Language." Foxing to page edges; otherwise near fine in a good dust jacket with a triangular tear at the upper front edge.
330. ORWELL, George. Homage to Catalonia. NY: Harcourt Brace (1952). First American edition of Orwell's personal account of the Spanish Civil War, originally published in England in the Thirties. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An attractive copy of an understated but incisive view of one of the pivotal conflicts of the modern era.
331. OZICK, Cynthia. The Puttermesser Papers. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of her most recent novel, which was just nominated for the National Book Award. Fine in wrappers.
332. PARINI, Jay. Benjamin's Crossing. NY: Henry Holt (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of Parini's fictional portrayal of Walter Benjamin's life and death. Fine in wrappers.
333. PARKER, Robert B. Small Vices. NY: Putnam (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of Parker's most recent "Spenser" mystery. Fine in wrappers.
334. PARKER, Robert B. Night Passage. NY: Putnam (1997). His most recent novel, and the first of a projected series featuring Jessie Stone, a former LAPD homicide detective. This is the advance reading copy. Fine in wrappers.
335. PATCHEN, Kenneth. Untitled Painting. An abstract painting, done in Patchen's characteristic expressionist style and signed in the lower right corner. Patchen painted many pictures, often illustrating his books with them or using them as the bases for his poetry, or even the vehicle for it. Most of his paintings, however, are quite small. This, by contrast, is a large image, measuring approximately 17" x 13". Like Henry Miller, Patchen freely crossed the line from writing to visual art and back again, and his painting style is, like his poetry, exuberant and free-form.
336. PATCHETT, Ann. The Magician's Assistant. NY: Harcourt Brace (1997). The advance reading copy of the most recent novel by the author of the highly praised Taft and The Patron Saint of Liars. Fine in wrappers, with 15 pages of publisher's promotional material laid in.
337. PERCY, Walker. The Moviegoer. NY: Knopf, 1961. The author's first book, winner of the National Book Award and a novel that helped establish Percy as both an important Southern writer and as a chronicler of the spiritual malaise of modern America. This copy is very near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a few short, closed edge tears and very little rubbing: mostly confined to the extreme corners. An elusive and important first book-the Linda Hobson bibliography gives the first printing as 1500 copies although we have been told that it was more. The jacket is especially prone to wear and collectible copies of the first edition are difficult to find.
338. (PERCY, Walker). SAMWAY, Patrick. Walker Percy: A Life. NY: FSG (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of this recent biography of Percy, by a well-known Jesuit scholar of Southern literature. Fine in wrappers.
339. PERRY, Thomas. Shadow Woman. NY: Random House (1997). The uncorrected proof copy of the author's third novel featuring contemporary Seneca guide Jane Whitfield. By the author of The Butcher's Boy and Metzger's Dog, among others. Fine in wrappers.
340. PHILLIPS, Caryl. The Nature of Blood. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of the new novel by the West Indian author of Higher Ground and Crossing the River. Fine in wrappers.
341. PLATH, Sylvia. The Colossus and Other Poems. London: Heinemann (1960). The first edition of the author's first book, preceding its U.S. publication. The only collection of poetry published in her lifetime-by a writer who is nonetheless universally considered among the most influential poets of the postwar era. Only one other of her books was published before she committed suicide-the autobiographical novel The Bell Jar. This is a fine copy in a white dust jacket with the usual tanning to the spine as well as general surface soiling, but very light edgewear; still about near fine.
342. -. Same title, the first American edition (NY: Knopf, 1962). A thinner volume than the original, with nine fewer poems. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.
343. PLATH, Sylvia. Ariel. London: Faber & Faber (1965). A posthumous collection, which is widely considered her greatest poetic achievement. These poems were all written during the last months of Plath's life. Near fine in a spine-tanned but still very crisp, near fine dust jacket.
344. PRICE, Richard. The Wanderers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974. The author's first book, and the basis for the well-received Walter Hill movie. Fine in a fine dust jacket with a corner crease on the front flap.
345. PROULX, E. Annie. Postcards. NY: Scribner's (1992). The author's second book of fiction and first novel. Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award. By all appearances, the scarcest of her works of fiction, surpassing even her first collection, Heart Songs and Other Stories. Fine in a very near fine dust jacket with a faint paper clip imprint on the front panel.
346. PYNCHON, Thomas. Gravity's Rainbow. NY: Viking (1973). Pynchon's magnum opus, winner of the National Book Award and the William Dean Howells Medal, given out for the best work of fiction to appear in the U.S. over a five-year period (an award that Pynchon attempted to decline). Gravity's Rainbow has become practically a latter-day, American Ulysses-a benchmark against which all subsequent novels have been measured, and one that yields with great difficulty to any effort to capture and distill its plot and "meaning." From its first publication, GR has inspired awe for the breadth of its references and allusions, as well as for the facility of its language and the grandness of its themes; it has also gained the reputation, like Ulysses, of being "difficult," and it is clear that Pynchon had no wish to spoonfeed his readers. Dusty top stain; otherwise a fine copy of this massive book, in a near fine dust jacket creased on the front flap. This copy shows none of the spine-fading that is common to copies of this book. The first printing in hardcover was only 4000 copies.
347. RANSMAYR, Christoph. The Dog King. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition. Fine in wrappers.
348. RAYMO, Chet. The Dork of Cork. (NY): Warner (1993). The author's second novel (he has also published eight books of nonfiction, and is highly esteemed as a writer on astronomy and natural history). Fine in a fine dust jacket and signed by the author.
349. RICE, Anne. Violin. NY: Knopf, 1997. The uncorrected proof copy of her latest novel, just published (October, 1997). Light corner bump; a few pages turned from same. Near fine in wrappers.
350. ROBINSON, Marilynne. Housekeeping. NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1980). Review copy of her first book and only novel to date. A subtle story of keeping what matters and escaping from the weight of the rest, made into a moving film with Christine Lahti. Very faint dampstain to the top of the first dozen pages; thus near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a John Hawkes blurb: "I think that there are few first novels published since mid-century to compare with Housekeeping for sheer perfection of language and for conveying what it means to be human. It is a work of pure grace." Also blurbs by Doris Lessing and Walker Percy.
351. ROSE, Joel. Kill Kill Faster Faster. NY: Crown (1997). The advance reading copy of this hip, edgy, urban crime novel, with a long, enthusiastic blurb from Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting. Fine in wrappers.
352. ROY, Arundhati. The God of Small Things. NY: Random House (1997). Uncorrected proof copy of the first American edition of the first novel by this young Indian author, which won the Booker Prize. After the considerable success of this book in England, where it was reprinted numerous times, there was considerable word-of-mouth "buzz" in this country and Random House decided to do a glossy advance reading copy in pictorial wrappers. Consequently, few copies of this earlier proof seem to have been done, and they have not been showing up on the market. Interestingly, after being informed of her winning the Booker, the author stated publicly that she did not see herself as a writer, that writing this novel was about her past and was now behind her, and that she had no particular intention of writing another. An uncommon state of one of the most highly praised novels of the year.
353. RUFF, Matt. Sewer, Gas & Electric. (NY): Atlantic Monthly Press, 1997. The advance reading copy of his second novel, a "Public Works Trilogy" set in the year 2023 and featuring an eco-terrorist in a novel characterized as "part Mad Max, part Monkey Wrench Gang, part Charles Dickens." The author has dedicated the book to Ayn Rand. Fine in wrappers.
354. RUKEYSER, Muriel. A Turning Wind. NY: Viking, 1939. Her third collection of poems. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
355. RUKEYSER, Muriel. Breaking Open. NY: Random House (1973). Inscribed by the author in the month prior to publication. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
356. (RUSH, Norman). DISCH, Thomas, ed. Bad Moon Rising. NY: Harper & Row (1973). An "anthology of political foreboding," edited by Disch and with two stories by Rush: "Riding" and "Fighting Facism," which precede his first book by 13 years. Rush's second book and first novel won the National Book Award in 1991. Other stories by Disch, Gene Wolfe, Marilyn Hacker, Michael Moorcock, Harlan Ellison, Ron Padgett and Dick Gallup, and others. Label removal shadow front pastedown; else fine in a near fine dust jacket. Signed by Rush twice, once at each contribution.