Nineteenth-century Ontario is the background for Robert Fraser's single, all-consuming task--to build a perpetual motion machine--and the locality of a richly imaginative universe composed of elements of humor, horror, and magic
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Set in southern Ontario in the late nineteenth century, at a time when the machine age was coming into its own, Perpetual Motion chronicles the fortunes of settler Robert Fraser, a man obsessed with power and control. Driven by the idea of inventing a perpetual motion machine which will utilize natural energy, he neglects and destroys not only the nature around him but his own family too, as his overbearing rationality becomes a kind of tragic lunacy.
First published in 1982, Perpetual Motion is Graeme Gibson?s superb evocation of a time when faith in material progress is still challenged by superstition and a lingering belief in magic. It is an ironic yet compassionate examination of the painful consequences of human folly.
From the Hardcover edition.
Graeme Gibson was born in London, Ontario, in 1934.
An important spokesman for Canadian cultural identity, Gibson was the initial organizer and a founding member of the Writers’ Union of Canada, and was its chairman in 1976. He was also an organizer and founding member of the Writers’ Trust, a non-profit organization, and was subsequently its chairman. From 1987 to 1989 he was president of the Canadian Centre of International PEN.
In 1990, he won a Toronto Arts Award for writing and publishing, and, in 1992 he received the Order of Canada. He is the author of four novels, Five Legs (1969), Communion (1971), Perpetual Motion (1982), and Gentleman Death (1993).
Graeme Gibson lives in Toronto, Ontario.
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hardcover. Condition: fine copy in fine dust jacket. First U.S. Edition. black boards w/ silver lettering on spine; 283 pgs; illus dust jacket w/ $12.95 on front flap, author photo at back; the first of Canadian author's books pub in U.S. quotes by Annie Dillard, Timothy Findley & Alice Munro on back cover. Seller Inventory # 291
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Seller: Inga's Original Choices, Piggott, AR, U.S.A.
Hard Cover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Complete number line at copyright page [1-10]. NON price-clipped DJ [$12.95]. Pages clean, unmarked, binding tight. Black boards, silver lettering on spine. This is the story of a place and its sometimes grotesque inhabitants and of an age when faith in material progress is undermined by the lingering belief in the magical, the portentous and the superstitions that underlie Ontario's Methodist facade. It draws its energy from such vernacular traditions as the tall tale, the rural kitchen-table anecdote, the bawdy joke, and the ghost story. Media Mail, Priority & most international shipping include free tracking information. Every book listed is located in my smoke free and climate controlled shop. All are inspected by me and will have qualities and/or flaws described. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall Stated First U.S. Edition First Printing. Seller Inventory # 000205
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Seller: Monroe Street Books, Middlebury, VT, U.S.A.
Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 283 pages. Clean, unmarked copy with only minor wear to dust jacket. Record # 461485. Seller Inventory # 461485
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Seller: Persephone's Books, Gastonia, NC, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Very Good. First American Edition. 238 pp. The page edges are lightly shelf-soiled. The jacket is slightly scuffed at the head and foot of the spine, and is shelf-soiled. The Canadian author's first novel published in the U.S.; set in southern Ontario in the late 19th century. Seller Inventory # 006935
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Hard Cover. First U.S. Edition, First printing. FINE IN NEAR FINE DJ WITH SOILING, ESPECIALLY ON FRONT COVER. Seller Inventory # 1366
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Seller: Old Scrolls Book Shop, Stanley, NY, U.S.A.
Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. Stated First American Edition. Gordonsville, Virginia, U.S.A.: St Martins Pr, 1983. Stated First American Edition. Near FIne/Very Good+. Clean black cloth boards with silver lettering on spine. No bumping or wear. Binding is tight & crisp, pages and edges are clean. No names, writing or marks. 283 pgs. Clean dustjacket has one 3/4" closed tear at base of rear flap fold. Enclosed in new archival quality mylar cover. Set in southern Ontario in the late 19th century, this novel chronicles the fortunes of a man driven by the idea of inventing a perpetual motion machine. 8 Vo. Fiction. Seller Inventory # 012232
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Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good Minus. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good +. 1st American Edition/1st Printing. SIGNED and inscribed by author on a bookplate decal on ffep. Bottom boards are scraped at edges. $12.95 price present on DJ flap. Also includes laid-in the original 1982 review from New York Times Book Review. Signed by Author. Seller Inventory # 006206
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Hardcover. Very Good / Very Good dust jacket. Free of any markings and no writings inside. For any additional information or pictures, please inquire. Seller Inventory # 200919007
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. 1ST. A Nice Reading Copy - Book Is In Very Good + Condition. Boards Have A Tiny Bit Of Shelf Wear. Fore Edges Have A Small Amount Of Wear. Interior Is Clean And Legible. Not Remaindered. Dust Jacket Is In Very Good + Condition. Tiny Bit Of Shelf Wear/Rub. Tiniest Bit Of Wear Along The Edges. Not Price Clipped. Dust Jacket Is Covered By Mylar Wrapper. Thanks And Enjoy. Book. Seller Inventory # 026383
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