HEAVY WATER AND OTHER STORIES (First edition - first impression)

Martin Amis

ISBN 10: 0224051261 / ISBN 13: 9780224051262

Published by Jonathan Cape, London, 1998

About this Item

First impression of the true first edition with the full number-string including the no. "1" on the printer's page: 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1. ***Near fine in royal blue cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine. Boards clean and unmarked. Corners sharp. No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Internally also near fine with no inscriptions. Pages clean. No creases or tears. Dark blue front and rear free endpapers. ***In a near fine colour illustrated dustwrapper, that has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of £14.99. No creases or tears. No chips. Dustwrapper bright. ***231 pages. 224mm x 144mm. ***Short Stories: Career Move; Denton's Death; State of England; Let Me Count the Times; The Coincidence of te Arts; Heavy Water; The Janitor on Mars; Straight Fiction; What Happened To Me On Holiday.' ***Martin Amis's short stories make his novels look prim.' (Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***First impression of the true first edition, in its original dustwrapper, in nice bright condition. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 3507z

Bibliographic Details

• Title: HEAVY WATER AND OTHER STORIES (First edition - first impression)
• Publisher: Jonathan Cape, London
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0224051261
• ISBN 13: 9780224051262
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Printing: First Impression
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • First Editions

About this title

Synopsis

First edition bound in blue cloth. A fine copy in a VG+ Dust jacket. The dust jacket has some scratches on the front panel and a faint, 1" horizontal crease at the upper right edge of the front panel.

Review

These nine stories span a period from 1975 to 1997 and are a good reflection of the range of Martin Amis's writing, which is always skillful and consistently seductive--sometimes irritatingly so. Amis lures his reader into an intense interest in his characters, and then, in some unsettling way, encourages us to patronize or disparage them. It's an odd strategy, but it holds our attention. By making us uncomfortable about our own less admirable attitudes, he focuses us intently on his story line.

In "Coincidence of the Arts," the targets are the feckless painter Sir Rodney Peel and his black doorman, aspiring novelist Pharsin Courier, who turns to him for artistic encouragement. When Peel embarks on a curious affair with a black waitress, it is sheer coincidence that she should happen to be Pharsin's wife. The consequences reflect well on neither man. In "State of England," we smirk knowingly at Big Mal, a bullshitting East Ender trying to sort out his life at his small son's sports day, but we are nevertheless compelled to find out what will become of him. Familiar stories about obsessive bad sex such as "Let Me Count the Times" have not stood the test of time, and Amis's tales of literary agents, aspiring novelists, and spoiled bestseller writers may only interest an inner coterie. Still, when he is on form, Amis's work is as deeply alluring as it is amusing. --Lisa Jardine, Amazon.co.uk