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Synopsis
A chance sexual encounter at a Swiss spa triggers a process of discovery in a woman that leads to the realization that she killed a woman for refusing her sexual advances years before
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About the Author
Sheila Kohler has published five novels, including Crossways (Other Press, 2005), and three collections of short stories. Her novel Cracks was chosen by New York Newsday and Library Journal as one of the best books of 1999. A native of South Africa, she makes her home in New York City and teaches at Bennington College in Vermont.
From Publishers Weekly
In this relentlessly literary first novel, writing techniques dominate content. Prose in the once avant-garde style of Robbe-Grillet and Duras (theirs stemming from passion, Kohler's a passionless intellectual exercise) evokes the terminal ennui of its narrator, a nameless woman of a certain age tracking down a repressed memory. Supposedly damaged by her upbringing among idle, isolated, rich colonials, and by intimate encounters with females (the first, her mother), she reveals homophobic fantasies rather than psychological truths; her attitude toward sex can be compared to Henry James at his most Victorian. Indeed, one of the few named characters (besides a black servant portentously called Justice) is Daisy Summers, a Daisy Miller mutation. When the narrator finally recalls her trauma, the event and the process of its recovery matter neither to her nor to the reader. Kohler's point is that Donne was wrong, one woman can be an island. And she does prove that, like the sea around us, one slim book seems endless.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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- PublisherAlfred A. Knopf
- Publication date1989
- ISBN 10 0394573730
- ISBN 13 9780394573731
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages148
- Rating
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The Perfect Place
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf Incorporated, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
Used
Hardcover
Seller: Court Street Books/TVP Properties, Inc., Florence, AL, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. First Edition, First Printing. Very nice. Seller Inventory # 011158
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The Perfect Place (Fine First Edition)
Seller: Dan Pope Books, West Hartford, CT, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. Knopf (New York), 1989. First edition. First printing. Hardcover. Fine in near fine dust jacket (with small closed tear front flap on the crease). A nice copy. 0.0. Seller Inventory # 293
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The Perfect Place
Seller: Irish Booksellers, Portland, ME, U.S.A.
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Condition: Good. SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book. Seller Inventory # 0394573730-R
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The Perfect Place
Seller: ThriftBooks-Atlanta, AUSTELL, GA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less 0.8. Seller Inventory # G0394573730I3N00
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The Perfect Place
Published by
Knopf, NY, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Old Algonquin Books, Arvada, CO, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. First edition. Author's first novel. Seller Inventory # 7784
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The Perfect Place
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Willis Monie-Books, ABAA, Cooperstown, NY, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. There is some rubbing on the inside front cover of the book. The DJ has rubbing. There is yellowing at the top back edge of the DJ. Seller Inventory # 225148
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The Perfect Place
Published by
Westminister, Maryland, U.S.A.: Alfred a Knopf Inc, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
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First Edition
Seller: Murderers' Row, Maple Grove, MN, U.S.A.
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Hardcover. Condition: As New. Dust Jacket Condition: As New. 1st Edition. Seller Inventory # 003227
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The Perfect Place.
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf: Borzoi Books, New York, NY, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
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Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Black Cat Hill Books, Oregon City, OR, U.S.A.
Seller rating 4 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. First Edition, so stated. First Edition, so stated. Near Fine in Near Fine DJ: Both book and DJ show only minute indications of use. The Book shows no discernible wear at all, but the binding is ever-so-slightly cocked, while remaining perfectly secure; the text is clean. The DJ shows just a hint of rubbing; the price is unclipped. Overall, very close to 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. 148pp. Hardback with DJ. Troubled by ghosts of the past, the asthmatic, solitary narrator of this psychosexually chilling short novel has totally repressed a shocking secret. Triggered by current sensory images, it emerges slowly in fragmentary memories that have blocked full awareness. Finally she remembers the crime she committed against a schoolmate, which now haunts her until she can face its memory. "No man is an island," said John Donne, but Kohler believes in the privacy of "islands." A bizarre, cerebral memoir that unfolds slowly and deliberately in a series of almost impressionistic sensory images. Recommended. Seller Inventory # 43373
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The Perfect Place
Published by
Alfred A Knopf Inc, NY, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
Used
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First Edition
Seller: biblioboy, North Providence, RI, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. First Edition. NY: Alfred A Knopf Inc. 1989."A wholly entrancing narrative.Kohler has a fine ear for truth and untruth and the musical possibilities of their interplay." Fine in Fine jacket Hard Cover. 8vo-over 7þ"-9þ" tall. .ref10. Seller Inventory # 006896
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The Perfect Place
Published by
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1989
ISBN 10: 0394573730
ISBN 13: 9780394573731
Used
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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: Near Fine. First edition. Near fine in near fine dustwrapper. Review copy. Light stamp on top corner on front endpaper. Light shelf rubbing to dustwrapper Nice condition. Please Note: This book has been transferred to Between the Covers from another database and might not be described to our usual standards. Please inquire for more detailed condition information. Seller Inventory # 230007
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