The City of Your Final Destination. First Edition.First Printing.Signed by the Author

Cameron, Peter

ISBN 10: 1857029720 / ISBN 13: 9781857029727

Published by London. Fourth Estate, 2002

About this Item

London. Fourth Estate. 2002. First Edition/First Printing. (1 in number line on copyright page). Hard Cover. Black cloth boards with gilt spine titles and red endpapers. Illustrated unclipped dust wrapper protected in mylar. Both book and jacket are new. Flat signed by the author on tipped in paste down without dedication to the title page. A novel about the random nature of love, and the ways in which we confront or avoid life's choices, Jules Grund, the painter, died leaving Susan and Portia, his wife and daughter; Caroline, his mistress who paints and then destroys forgeries; and his brother, Adam who lives with his lover, Peter. Truths are revealed as Omar unravels the truth of Grund's life and his family. Please have a look at our wide selection of new, signed first editions; a must for the hypermodern collector.

Seller Inventory # DEC13KH035

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The City of Your Final Destination. First Edition.First Printing.Signed by the Author
• Publisher: London. Fourth Estate
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1857029720
• ISBN 13: 9781857029727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: New
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • hypermodern

About this title

Synopsis

This startling, beautiful novel set in South America explores the mysterious concepts of love and home. Omar has won an award to write the authorised biography of a celebrated yet obscure writer, Jules Gund, author of The Gondola. It only remains for him to obtain permission from Gund's literary executors: his widow, his mistress and his brother. Their lives still revolve around Ochos Rios, a dilapidated mansion in Uruguay that Gund's parents built after fleeing Nazi Germany. The three cannot agree to approve the work -- although Adam Gund feels sure this will not stop Omar, because 'biographers are clever, vindictive, ruthless people.' If Omar cannot reverse the executors' decision, he will lose his award, his job and, perhaps, his redoubtable girlfriend. Not allowing himself time for reflection, Omar acts against instinct and flies to Uruguay. There, he disturbs the uneasy intimacy of the world Gund has left behind and changes it forever.

Review

Peter Cameron's sublime, beautiful novel City of Your Final Destination concerns true love and a young academic's struggle to break free from a life he's molded but doesn't want to live. Omar Razaghi, who's pursuing a Ph.D. at a Midwestern university, fudges his application for grant money, stating he has already obtained authorization from the family of the deceased minor novelist Jules Gund. When he belatedly seeks permission to proceed, the three executors--Gund's brother, Adam; former wife Caroline; and Arden, Gund's mistress and mother of Gund's daughter, Portia--decline. Prompted by his girlfriend, Deirdre, Omar shows up unexpectedly in Uruguay, seeking to convince the family of his--and their--need for a biography of Jules Gund to exist.

Cameron is an able storyteller, and his command allows the prose to flow simply and beautifully; here, most every word counts. Adam's often hilarious wit and Caroline's recalcitrance are sharply drawn, descriptions are in crisp relief, and Cameron gives us many reasons to smile: "Pete stood there for a moment, as if he were deciding, trying to think of a reason why he must stay with them, but he was not clever enough, and so of course he had to leave." The City of Your Final Destination is a refreshing look at the impact of desire and love on quirky, elegantly drawn characters. --Michael Ferch