A TOMB FOR BORIS DAVIDOVICH - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing

Kis, Danilo (Translated by Duska Mikic-Mitchell) & Brodsky, Joseph (Contributor)

ISBN 10: 0151904863 / ISBN 13: 9780151904860

Published by New York City, NY: Harcourt Brace, 1978, 1978

About this Item

1st Printing. 135 pages. Published in 1978. The author's breakthrough debut novel. One of Danilo Kis' 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 DJ design by the great New Yorker Magazine graphic artist Seymour Chwast is outstanding. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Danilo Kis' "Gronica za Boris Davidovica" in a brilliant English translation. Seven dark tales, which are variations on the theme of political and social self-destruction throughout Eastern Europe in the first half of the 20th century. With an illuminating Introduction by the great Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky, one of Kis' most ardent admirer/champions in the West. The characters in these stories are caught in a world of political hypocrisy, which (almost irresistibly) leads to death, their inescapable shared fate. Although the stories Kis tells are based on factual historical events, the beauty and precision of his prose elevate these ostensibly true stories into works of literary art that transcend the politics of their time. "It's an absolutely first-rate book, one of the best things I have ever read on the whole experience of Communism" (Irving Howe). An absolute "must-have" title for Danilo Kis collectors. This title is a great book. This is one of very few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) still available online and is in fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have very serious flaws or are in subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER DANILO KIS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 0151904863.

Seller Inventory # 24079

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A TOMB FOR BORIS DAVIDOVICH - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing
• Publisher: New York City, NY: Harcourt Brace, 1978
• Publication Date: 1978
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0151904863
• ISBN 13: 9780151904860
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: no

About this title

Synopsis

"Kis is one of the handful of incontestably major writers of the second half of the century . . . Danilo Kis preserves the honor of literature."â Partisan Review

Composed of seven dark tales, A Tomb for Boris Davidovich presents variations on the theme of political and social self-destruction throughout Eastern Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. The characters in these stories are caught in a world of political hypocrisy, which ultimately leads to death, their common fate. Although the stories Kis tells are based on historical events, the beauty and precision of his prose elevates these ostensibly true stories into works of literary art that transcend the politics of their time.

About the Author

William T. Vollmann is the author of seven novels, three collections of stories, and a seven-volume critique of violence, Rising Up and Rising Down. He is also the author of Poor People, a worldwide examination of poverty through the eyes of the impoverished themselves; Riding Toward Everywhere, an examination of the train-hopping hobo lifestyle; and Imperial, a panoramic look at one of the poorest areas in America. He has won the PEN Center USA West Award for Fiction, a Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize and a Whiting Writers' Award. His journalism and fiction have been published in The New Yorker, Esquire, Spin and Granta. Vollmann lives in Sacramento, California.