TALES OUT OF SCHOOL - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing: Signed by Benjamin Taylor - SIGNED ON THE HALF-TITLE PAGE

Taylor, Benjamin

ISBN 10: 1885983042 / ISBN 13: 9781885983046

Edité par New York City, NY: Turtle Point Press, 1995, 1995

A propos de cet article

1st Printing. Signed. 283 pages. Published in 1995. The author's breakthrough debut novel. One of the most important literary debuts of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a small, independent press. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Benjamin Taylor's "Tales Out of School". An ambitious historical drama and a coming-of-age narrative at the same time, an epic (succinctly told in a mere 283 pages) compared to Andre Aciman's lyric, "Call Me By Your Name" (2007). "Affectingly introduces members of a genteel, wealthy German-Jewish family living in early 20th-century Galveston, Texas. Felix, scholarly and loyal, works his way through 'The Aeneid' and adolescent stirrings of desire, which he acts upon with Wick Frawley, once a bully, now a friend. Taylor's spare, supple prose easily accommodates effective forays into Magical Realism as well as nuanced evocations of the desire, religious doubt, and affection that animate his memorable characters. It is a measure of his skill that even those met briefly in this bewitching novel continue to resonate in the reader's imagination" (Publishers Weekly). Benjamin Taylor is well-known as a scholar, literary critic, editor, and essayist, which multi-faceted achievement may have (negatively) affected his reception as a novelist. As a "nonfiction" writer so-called, he is a major figure: "Into The Open: Reflections On Genius And Modernity" (1995) and "Proust: The Search" (2015), among others, are regarded as masterpieces. But as a serious novelist, he is unjustly underrated, a so-called "writer's writer" with an esoteric following, admired by Philip Roth. An absolute "must-have" title for Benjamin Taylor collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Benjamin Taylor. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER BENJAMIN TAYLOR TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 1885983042.

N° de réf. du vendeur 21688

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: TALES OUT OF SCHOOL - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing: Signed by Benjamin Taylor - SIGNED ON THE HALF-TITLE PAGE
• Éditeur: New York City, NY: Turtle Point Press, 1995
• Date de parution: 1995
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 1885983042
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9781885983046
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition.
• État de l'article: Fine
• État de la jaquette: Fine
• Signé: Signed by Author

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

Elegant, lyrical and elegiac, this powerful first novel affectingly introduces members of a genteel, wealthy German-Jewish family living in early Galveston.

Revue de presse

Winner of the Harold Ribalow Prize

"All the great themes... sibling rivalry, generational conflict, birth, death, and the magical, miserable phenomenon of love... The beauty of Taylor's language ratchets up and down from lyrical exposition to hardscrabble dialogue. His elaborate idiom allows him to sound certain metaphysical depths, to explore what he calls 'the abyss of humanness into which we reach, not knowing where the bottom lies.'" — Newsday

"Elegant, lyrical, elegiac [and[ powerful... Taylor's spare, supple prose easliy accomodates effective forays into magic realism as well as nuanced evocations of the desire, religious doubt and affection that animate his memorable characters."— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Beautifully rendered, moving, original ... Taylor writes in a richly poetic language steeped in time and place." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Some prose invites being heard .... Benjamin Taylor's language is lush, exotic, at times peculiar, as befits a novel set in Galveston Island, Texas, where the extraordinary finds a fertile environment at the beginning of this century. Catholic, Jew, redneck, homosexual — these mix, marry, exchange vocabularies and dialects. Latin and Hebrew are sung on the Texas shore. It's a setting where Taylor feels confident to fit rare words to a rare locale." — The Riverfront Times (St. Louis)

“Dryly humorous and moving, learned and colloquial, lyrical and richly suggestive. ...Taylor’s vision is an idealistic one, but it is nonetheless effective.” —Times Literary Supplement (London)

“Tales Out of School reads like a haunting and significant dream, the key to a precious life.” — Lily Tuck

“A magical and mysterious work.” — Edward Albee

“A lyrical evocation of time recaptured . . .[and]of stories interconnected and so hauntingly told that we are hypnotized by the sheer force of Taylor’s style. I have not read paragraphs this good, this informed about history...in quite some time.” — Sanford Pinsker (Philadelphia Jewish Exponent)

“A tale of the Tribe as enmeshed with the harebrained circumstance as it is with heretical myth. Classical resonance, I learn from reading this affectionate affabulation, has nothing to do with grand scale, it is the grand style that works the mystery—and the mischief. What a lovable, brilliant recital!” — Richard Howard

“I enjoyed the book immensely; it is a wonderfully beguiling vision.” — Amitav Ghosh

“The novel is about other days and other people: their eccentricities and interdependencies. But the wonder of this book is its style. Through that, it is made to be a story that draws the reader into an enchanting moment and holds the attention from sentence to sentence. Ben Taylor’s real achievement is to restore the tension and magic of song to narrative.” — Eavan Boland

“I didn’t want the book to end, and its long reverie stays with me.” — Rachel Hadas

“One of the great novels of the decade. If you have to, steal a copy.” — Gay Times (London)