Synopsis
The Counterlife is about people enacting their dreams of renewal and escape, some of them going so far as to risk their lives to alter seemingly irreversible destinies. Wherever they may find themselves, the characters of The Counterlife are tempted unceasingly by the prospect of an alternative existence that can reverse their fate.Illuminating these lives in transition and guiding us through the book's evocative landscapes, familiar and foreign, is the miind of the novelist Nathan Zuckerman. His is the skeptical, enveloping intelligence that calculates the price that's paid in the struggle to change personal fortune and reshape history, whether in a dentist's office in suburban New Jersey, or in a tradition-bound English Village in Gloucestershire, or in a church in London's West End, or in a tiny desert settlement in Israel's occupied West Bank.
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Review
The saga of Henry and Nathan Zuckerman continues, 13 years after novelist Nathan Zuckerman first appeared in Roth's 1974 effort, My Life as a Man. In The Counterlife, the dentist Henry suffers an unsettling--and for Roth, a predictable--side effect to his heart medication: impotence, which leads him to undergo an ill-fated operation. The multi-layered plot line travels from New York to London to Israel, while the characters undergo a series of surprising transformations. In the words of Nathan, a change in one's life causes "a counterlife that is one's own anti-myth." It's vintage Roth.
From the Inside Flap
The Counterlife is about people enacting their dreams of renewal and escape, some of them going so far as to risk their lives to alter seemingly irreversible destinies. Wherever they may find themselves, the characters of The Counterlife are tempted unceasingly by the prospect of an alternative existence that can reverse their fate.
Illuminating these lives in transition and guiding us through the book's evocative landscapes, familiar and foreign, is the miind of the novelist Nathan Zuckerman. His is the skeptical, enveloping intelligence that calculates the price that's paid in the struggle to change personal fortune and reshape history, whether in a dentist's office in suburban New Jersey, or in a tradition-bound English Village in Gloucestershire, or in a church in London's West End, or in a tiny desert settlement in Israel's occupied West Bank.
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The Counterlife
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The Counterlife
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The Counterlife
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The Counterlife
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Hardback. Condition: Good. The book has been read but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact and the cover is intact. Some minor wear to the spine. Seller Inventory # GOR001860304
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THE COUNTERLIFE
Published by
Jonathan Cape, 1987. 9780224028714, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224028715
ISBN 13: 9780224028714
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Seller: Rothwell & Dunworth (ABA, ILAB), Dulverton, United Kingdom
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1st edn. 8vo. Original gilt lettered blue cloth, top edge yellow (Fine), dustwrapper (near Fine in protective cover, not price clipped). Pp. 328 (pages toned; no inscriptions). Seller Inventory # 189475
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The Counterlife
Published by
Jonathan Cape, London, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224028715
ISBN 13: 9780224028714
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First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First English edition. Fine in very good price-clipped jacket with price label in Pounds (presumably as issued), with modest general wear and a short creased tear on the front panel. Seller Inventory # 574179
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The Counterlife
Published by
Jonathan Cape, London, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224028715
ISBN 13: 9780224028714
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Between the Covers-Rare Books, Inc. ABAA, Gloucester City, NJ, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First English edition. Pages slightly age-toned in the margins, corners lightly bumped, very good in a very good price-clipped jacket with price label in pounds (presumably as issued), with light rubbing and modest edgewear. Author's fourth full-length novel to feature the fictional novelist Nathan Zuckerman. Seller Inventory # 583212
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The Counterlife
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Vintage Publishing, United Kingdom, London, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224028715
ISBN 13: 9780224028714
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Seller: WorldofBooks, Goring-By-Sea, WS, United Kingdom
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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR001437133
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The Counterlife
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Hardcover. Condition: Used; Very Good. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! Greener Books. Seller Inventory # 2687883
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The Counterlife
Published by
Jonathan Cape, London, 1987
ISBN 10: 0224028715
ISBN 13: 9780224028714
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Dodman Books, Morston, United Kingdom
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. First printing of the first UK edition of this novel "unlike anything Roth has written before". Light toning to stock, but otherwise all in VG+, crisp and clean internal order. No inscriptions. Smart black boards with bright gilt titling to spine. VG d/j, clipped and repriced by publisher, with very slight fading to spine and minor wear to upper edge. This is a charity sale for Friends Of Morston Church (reg.1099831). 8vo. 328pp. Seller Inventory # 107847
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