Synopsis
After agreeing to pay Madame Vallette fourteen thousand francs annually for the rest of her life in exchange for the title to her spacious Paris apartment after her death, Monsieur Baudoin obsessively monitors the activities of his elderly neighbor
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Reviews
Nothing much happens in this slim first novel but it has, despite flaws, a cockeyed charm. Middle-aged Paris salesman Rene Baudoin invests a legacy in a viagere, the peculiarly French device that pays a property owner a life annuity in exchange for which the property passes to the buyer upon the seller's death. The seller, Mme. Vallette, is 70, but Baudoin quickly becomes impatient. He begins spying on her large apartment just across the street. The spying soon becomes more important to Baudoin than the waiting, eventually an obsession. He adopts ever-changing disguises, living the different roles he invents for himself. When Mme. Vallette drastically changes her daily routine, becoming a recluse except for late night visits to a seedy hotel, Baudoin turns detective. A death and crimes ensue, but not what you'd expect. Baudoin's sudden impatience to be rid of Mme. Vallette isn't properly explained and there are occasional arch moments, but stage and movie designer Rhoads has crafted a nicely elliptical, cinematic tale with some good-humored wit.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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The Contract
Seller: Eat My Words Books, Minneapolis, MN, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Binding tight. Pages bright and unmarked. Spine straight. Boards are in great condition. DJ has light shelf wear and yellowing from age, one torn sticker on front. ; 8.4 X 5.6 X 0.7 inches; 108 pages. Seller Inventory # 26608
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The Contract
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Henry Holt & Co April 1986, 1986
ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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Henry Holt & Co, New York, 1986
ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First American edition. First American Edition. A near fine book in a very good dust jacket. Jacket has moderate soiling. Y2B. Seller Inventory # 43868
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 1st printing. Near Fine hardcover in Very Good DJ. Bright, clean, square covers and spine are As New; small area of damp stain on text block top edge, slightly affects rear cover top edge and rear free end paper; tightly bound; bright, crisp, clean interior. DJ is clean and complete; age darkened along edges. 8vo, 108 pp. This is a new, unread book. Seller Inventory # C00432
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Collectible; Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. First Edition. This hardcover book is square and tight. The boards and spine have no wear with pristine lettering. The pages and endpages are clean, with no markings or folds. The dustjacket is As New. Original Price is intact. Not ex-lib. No remainder mark. Seller Inventory # 004161
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THE CONTRACT
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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The Contract
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First American Edition. This truly Gallic Novel of deception is itself a brilliant deception ( back cover) Book in Mylar cover. No remainder marks, no ink markings. Not price clipped either. First American Edition, First printing. Book. Seller Inventory # 002432
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The Contract
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First American edition. Very small and faint water stain on the gutters of the front endpapers near the spine tail, very good in a very good lightly age-toned dust jacket with corresponding dampstain on spine tail. A novel. Seller Inventory # 178285
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The Contract.
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ISBN 10: 0030080827
ISBN 13: 9780030080821
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. A novel. First American printing. Fine in an about fine dust jacket. Seller Inventory # 92379