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First impression of the first true edition of Graham Swift's fourth published novel, after "The Sweet-Shop Owner", "Shuttlecock" and "Waterland". ***Near fine in grey cloth-covered boards with silver titles to the spine. The boards are clean and unmarked - just slightly creased at the top and tail of the spine. No reading lean to the binding. Spine tight. Page block edges clean. Internally also near fine with no inscriptions. Paper slightly tanned as usual due to cheap paper stock used. ***In a near fine monochrome illustrated dustwrapper that has not been price-clipped, retaining the original publisher's printed price of £10.95. The dustwrapper is complete with no discernible faults. No creases, chips or tears. No fading. Dustwrapper bright. ***208 pages. 224mm x 142mm. ***'Set in April 1982, at the beginning of the ten-week conflict between Britain and Argentina over the Falkland Islands, the novel uses a historically resonant fictional present to render all major military campaigns of the twentieth century symbolic of meaningless sacrifice and unquenchable blood-thirst. "Arms and the Man" is a theme revisited in "Out of This World" but, in typical Swiftian mode, contemporary notions of heroism and love are exposed as media ploys typical of an era when "the cinema has replaced the vision of Greece and Rome". ***This far-reaching historical perspective is made possible through the story of three generations of the Beech family: Robert Beech, decorated World War I veteran and arms manufacturer, his son, Harry Beech, celebrated war photographer, and his granddaughter, Sophie. In "Out of This World" the macrocosm of history overlaps with the microcosm of the Beech family: within the period of 1875 (the creation of the Beech Munitions Company) to 1982, a century of colonial and global warfare is encapsulated. ***"I remember, in '69 - how we sat up together all night watching those first moon-men" is the novel's opening sentence. From the mud of Flanders to the bombed-out streets of Nuremberg to the rocks from the Moon: the ashes of twentieth-century history mingle with the technology of warfare and space travel in this novel."' (Quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***'Graham Colin Swift FRSL (born 4 May 1949) is an English writer. Born in London, England, he was educated at Dulwich College, London, Queens' College, Cambridge, and later the University of York. Some of Swift's books have been filmed, including "Waterland" (1992), "Shuttlecock" (1993), "Last Orders" (1996) and "Mothering Sunday" (2021). His novel "Last Orders" was joint-winner of the 1996 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction and a controversial winner of the 1996 Booker Prize, owing to the many similarities in plot and structure to William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying". ***'"Out of this World" is the fourth novel by English author Graham Swift published in 1988 by Viking in the UK and by Poseidon Press in the US. The majority of the novel is narrated by Harry, the son of Robert Beech, a Victoria Cross veteran of WW1, and Harry's estranged daughter Sophie (who lives in New York). The novel is set in 1982, ten years after the death of Harry's father, in a car bomb by the IRA. Robert Beech was a prominent figure in the Arms industry, but his death led to his son cutting short his career as a news photographer. The novel concentrates on the broken relationship between Harry (now an aerial photographer) and his daughter Sophie, and the scars caused by the death of Robert.' (Wiki) ***A near fine true first edition of Graham Swift's fourth published novel "Out of This World", in near fine 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.
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