Items related to Reasons of State
Synopsis
One of the most significant novels in Latin American literature, written by Cuba's most important modern novelist—to win a bet with Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
In the early 1970s, friends Gabriel García Márquez, Augusto Roa Bastos and Alejo Carpentier reached a joint decision: they would each write a novel about the dictatorships then wreaking misery in Latin America. García Márquez went on to write The Autumn of the Patriarch and Roa Bastos I, the Supreme. The third novel in this remarkable trinity is Reasons of State, hailed as
the most significant novel ever to come out of Cuba.
As with Garcia Marquez, Reasons of State is a bold story, boldly told --- daring in its perceptions, rich in lush detail, inventive in prose, and deadly compelling in its suspenseful plot.
Inexplicably out of print for years, it tells the tale of the dictator of an unnamed Latin American country who has been living the life of luxury in high-society Paris. When news reaches him of a coup at home, he rushes back and crushes it with brutal military force. But returning to Paris he is given a chilly welcome, and learns that photographs of the atrocities have been circulating
among his well-to-do friends.
Meanwhile World War One has broken out, and another rebellion forces the dictator back across the ocean. As he struggles with the Marxist forces beginning to find footing in his own country, and Europe is devastated, Carpentier constructs a masterful and biting satire of the new world order.
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Language Notes
Text: English, Spanish (translation)
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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Seller Image
Reasons of State
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, 1976
ISBN 10: 0394499093
ISBN 13: 9780394499093
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Losaw Service, Lenox Dale, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. 1st Edition. First American edition. Dust jacket has sticker marks and some small tears. Red cloth spine with brown paperboard is clean and square. Pages are bright and unmarked, good binding. Seller Inventory # A141
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Reasons of State
Seller: SecondSale, Montgomery, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Good. Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00088553061
Quantity: 1 available
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Reasons of State
Seller: ThriftBooks-Dallas, Dallas, TX, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Former library book; Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 2.25. Seller Inventory # G0394499093I3N11
Quantity: 1 available
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Reasons of State ("El recurso del método") English translation
Seller: LEA BOOK DISTRIBUTORS, Jamaica, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hard Cover. Condition: Like New. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1976 Translated from the Spanish by Frances Partridge. Originally published as "El recurso del método," México City, Siglo Veintiuno, 1975. Seller Inventory # 29218
Quantity: 20 available
Seller Image
Reasons of State.
Published by
New York, Knopf., 1976
ISBN 10: 0394499093
ISBN 13: 9780394499093
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Bucks County Bookshop IOBA, Doylestown, PA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
First U.S. Edition, First Printing. -- An ironic novel of the Cuban 1920s dictator Machado, and the ideas shared between Europe and Latin America during that time [Oxford Companion to Spanish Literature]. Translated from Spanish by Frances Partridge. -- Hardcover. Condition: Very good (tips a little worn) in good dust jacket (bright, but edge-worn at bottom; flap creased). ISBN 0394499093. Seller Inventory # 41574
Quantity: 1 available
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Reasons of State: A Novel
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1976
ISBN 10: 0394499093
ISBN 13: 9780394499093
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Fahrenheit's Books, Denver, CO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition Thus. First US edition, hardcover, has a slight lean to the binding, which is pulled in a few places but remains solid. The book also has light bumps to the spine ends and cover corners, and a previous owner's inscription to the first free end page. Overall, a Very Good copy in a like, unclipped dust jacket, which has mild bumps to the spine ends and cover corners, rubbing with light smudging to the covers, and a 2.5" creased tear to the head of the back. The jacket is wrapped in Mylar. Seller Inventory # 212251
Quantity: 1 available
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REASONS OF STATE - Scarce Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing
Published by
New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976, 1976
ISBN 10: 0394499093
ISBN 13: 9780394499093
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: ModernRare, CHICAGO, IL, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 312 pages. Published in 1976. The author's novel in late-career. One of Alejo Carpentier's finest achievements. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. 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. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Alejo Carpentier's "El Recurso del Metodo" in a felicitous English translation. Erudite, labyrinthine, and opaque, formally mirroring as such its ostensible subject: The mind and fate of a paranoid and ruthless Head of State. He "survives, suppressing all dissent, confiscating all RED literature (including 'Le Rouge et le Noir' and 'The Scarlet Letter'), facing down in his Presidential quarters the most extreme of the revolutionaries, the Student. He is in absolute control of his (and his nation's) fate until the people rebel and decide otherwise" (Publisher's blurb). And so the by-now-familiar story goes, rendered inimitably by Alejo Carpentier, framing it in Rene Descrates' seminal philosophical text, "Discourse On Method". The Dictator is the quintessential subject of Latin-American literature. Carpentier's novel has influenced every major writer, not just Gabriel Garcia Marquez ("The Autumn of The Patriarch") as well as Mario Vargas Llosa ("The Feast of The Goat" and as recently as 2021, "Harsh Times"), ALL of whom are obsessed, inescapably and maniacally, with the figure of the Dear Leader, with every nation-state's corrupt Founding Father. The obsession isn't quite the same with its North American neighbor, where paranoia of shenanigan, abuse, and unlimited power nevertheless reigns, albeit in an almost resigned and exasperated manner. An absolute "must-have" title for Alejo Carpentier collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) 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 scarce copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. ISBN 0394499093. no. Seller Inventory # 23371
Quantity: 1 available
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Reasons of State
Seller: Les Livres des Limbes, Chisseaux, France
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No DJ. First Thus. Separation gap at head of spine and small dent in top edge otherwise minimal shelf wear. Book. Seller Inventory # 14754
Quantity: 1 available
Stock Image
Reasons of State
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, 1976
ISBN 10: 0394499093
ISBN 13: 9780394499093
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: HM Books, Kingston, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
hardcover. Condition: VeryGood. Stated First American Edition. Dust jacket has a mylar plastic cover which shows some scuffing and rubbing. Dust jacket itself shows some light browning from age as well as some light scuffing and very light shelf wear to edges. Book itself shows some light shelf wear to edges and top page edges have been dyed a dark purple. Seller Inventory # mon0000012546
Quantity: 1 available
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REASONS OF STATE.
Published by
KNOPF. NY 1976, 1976
ISBN 10: 0394499093
ISBN 13: 9780394499093
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: WAVERLEY BOOKS ABAA, Santa Monica, CA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition; First Printing. First American edition. Fine in fine dust jacket. ( Couple tiny nicks in jacket. ) Cuban author. Seller Inventory # 1656
Quantity: 1 available