About this title: A collection of Barthelme's stories, including previously uncollected pieces. Chronicling the modern world, the situations he creates are both ordinary and strange, often reflecting the absurdity and meaninglessness of life. His other novels include "Snow White", "The Dead Father" and "The King".
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Edition: Reprint.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Futura, London
Date Published: 1989
ISBN-13:9780708840535ISBN:0708840531
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Worn but solid copy. Clean inside. Light soiling to covers. Moderate wear including bent corners, slightly rough edges, scratches and creases. 256p. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 2005
ISBN-13:9780142437810ISBN:0142437816
Description: New. Brand New! Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam, New York
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780399132995ISBN:0399132996
Description: Near Fine in Near Fine jacket. Very nice copy with no major blemishes. The covers are just slighly bowed. The companion volume to Barthelme's 1981 "Sixty Stories". read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Date Published: 2005-01-25
ISBN-13:9780142437810ISBN:0142437816
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780142437810. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Cloth and Boards
Publisher: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, New York, NY, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780399132995ISBN:0399132996
Description: Vg in Vg jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Book and dust jacket are both clean and bright with no defects. a sharp copy. read more
Edition: 1st edition. 1st Printing.
Binding: HC in dust jacket.
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons, NY
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780399132995ISBN:0399132996
Description: A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. read more
Description: Fine in Very Good jacket. Fine in Very Good jacket Fine in Very Good jacketHard Cover. Fine/Very Good. 1st Print. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. ISBN: 0399132996. top edge of dj curled on back, FC603736. read more
Description: Very good; Collectible. 1987 Putnam hard cover-1st edition first printing-tanning and some staining to page edge-price clipped-otherwise dust jacket and cover fine binding strong contents clean-a fine collectible in mylar cover-enjoy. read more
Description: Very good; Collectible. 1987 Putnam hard cover-1st edition first printing-tanning and some staining to page edge-price clipped-otherwise dust jacket and cover fine binding strong contents clean-a fine collectible in mylar cover-enjoy. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780399132995ISBN:0399132996
Description: New. Clean, crisp & tight, never read. Dust Jacket is good, slight shelf wear. Books may have a remainder mark on bottom of text block. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Secker & Warburg, London
Date Published: 1988
ISBN-13:9780436034244ISBN:0436034247
Description: Fine in Near Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Fine copy of Barthelme's 13th book. First UK Edition, Fine in a Near Fine DJ (the British price has been clipped and a sticker reflecting a dollar-denominated price has been affixed to the front flap, else Fine). Barthelme has won the National Book Award. In a plastic protector. read more
"So good I have to have a copy to keep, to savor again things like his one-paragraph summary of art history, his devastating two-page description of "education," and all the very true, very funny riffs that keep erupting in his stories, whatever the ostensible plot and setting."
"I'm starting to get very interested in short stories and DB is a master. I have this and 60 Stories on hand for breaks in reading when I need a quick change of pace without a lot of commitment (sounds like an affair). I found myself re-reading many of the stories in this volume, both for comprehension and also for repeated pleasure."
"Barthelme is the quintessential super-pretentious post-modernist. These stories are all less than four pages long and run the gambit from clever to amazing to barely readable to barely written. Of the forty, quite a few are duds, but the gems make up for it. Barthelme loves wordplay and idea play. A normal Barthelme "trick" is to take an idiomatic figure of speech. I won't quote from the book specifically, but an example would be something like "I wanted to tell Maggy I was having an affair but I couldn't stop beating around the bush." The plot of this particular story would revolve around how Maggy responds to the narrator's habit of beating around the bush whenever he had something important to say to her. She might ask him "Why do you keep hitting that bush with a stick" or some such thing. Shenanigans would ensue. Most of Barthelme's plots are absurdist and nothing of consequence usually happens. Some of my favorites are "Chablis," "The New Owner," "Jaws," "and "Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby." Definitely an acquired taste."
"These range from fabulist, fictionalized essaylike pieces to brief storylike narratives. Almost all are gems. If you are new to Barthelme this might be a good start. These are wonderful writings."
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