Items related to To Whom It May Concern
Synopsis
This book consists of a set of letters from an unidentified writer to an unidentified recipient. In the letters, a writer sets forth his plans for a book about two children who were separated from their families during a war. He plans to invent a narration that will fully reveal their experiences during that war, experiences that are at the base of their reality, and the memory of which will also retrieve them from their present, supernumerary lives.
The two children, it develops, escaped the roundups of Jews in a city much like Paris during World War II. The book contains the story of their ambiguous survival, which may or may not be that of the author. Now, fifty years later, the two have re-established contact and plan a reunion in Israel.
In the last scene of the book two figures, their features obscured by the long shadows of evening, lean toward one another as they speak from the confidence of their hearts. Also there, listening, is the writer of the letters that form the book. The novel ends mysteriously, and so continues to vibrate in our imagination. To Whom it May Concern will join that short list of books we treasure most deeply, those few statements that remind us of who we are, and of what we are capable.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Raymond Federman was born in 1928 in France. His novels have been translated into fourteen languages and include Smiles on Washington Square, winner of the American Book Award.
Review
"...a vision of man from the material of personal history and from the gleanings of his fully exercised moral imagination." -- George Chambers
"...entertaining, funny, and wildly imaginative, yet always profound and deeply moving." -- Chicago Tribune
"...on of the giant literary creations of our own era." -- Julian Lee Rayford, American Book Collector
"Federman has wit and intelligence." -- New York Times
"Metaphiction for the millions. Seductive, addictive, jubilant." -- John Gardner
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherFiction Collective 2
- Publication date1990
- ISBN 10 0932511325
- ISBN 13 9780932511324
- BindingPaperback
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages186
- Rating
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To Whom It May Concern: A Novel
Published by
Fiction Collective Two, 1990
ISBN 10: 0932511325
ISBN 13: 9780932511324
Used
Soft cover
First Edition
Seller: Remarks Used Books, Pittsfield, MA, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First edition, First printing, 1990. Bright & tight copy, unread, in Near Fine condition. "Franco-American author Raymond Federman is considered one of the leading U.S. novelists in Germany and Eastern Europe, where he is widely translated. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: is the newest novel by an author internationally acclaimed as one of the first postmodernists. This book consists of a set of letters from an unidentified writer to an unidentified recipient. In the letters, a writer sets forth his plans for a book about two children who were separated from their families during a war. He plans to invent a narration that will fully reveal their experiences during that war, experiences that are at the base of their reality, and the memory of which will also retrieve them from their present, supernumerary lives. [] The two children, it develops, escaped the roundups of Jews in a city much like Paris during World War II. The book contains the story of their ambiguous survival, which may or may not be that of the author. Now, fifty years later, the two have re-established contact and plan a reunion in Israel. [] In the last scene of the book two figures, their features obscured by the long shadows of evening, lean toward one another as they speak from the confidence of their hearts. Also there, listening, is the writer of the letters that form the book. The novel ends mysteriously, and so continues to vibrate in our imagination. TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: will join that short list of books we treasure most deeply, those few statements that remind us of who we are, and of what we are capable." [publisher copy] "Federman is a member of no group, no tribe, no faction . . . He has forever been doing exactly the same thing: creating, in joyful, disinterested confidence, a vision of man from the material of personal history and from the gleanings of his fully exercised moral imagination."--George Chambers. Near Fine paperback w/brilliant corners & crisp edges (some foxing on fore edge & slight beump on middle rear bottom), o/w bright copy w/tight binding & no creases in spine. Seller Inventory # RUB2711
Quantity: 1 available