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The 158-Pound Marriage
by Irving, John
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Seller
-
Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Random House, 1974. First Printing, with complete # line. His 3rd book, which had a very small 1st printing. Very Good, the first 40 pages slight curl top corner from dampness, and the ubiquitous small store sticker front pastedown. In a Very Good dustjacket, with a 1" triangular dampstain top corner front flap, corner creases both flaps, and light rubbing front panel. Book is clean and tight and presents better than this description would indicate.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good.
Synopsis
The 158-Pound Marriage, author John Irving's third published novel, revolves around an unidentified narrator, a college professor, and a mediocre novelist. The narrator met his wife Utch, an orphaned survivor of WWII, in Vienna while doing research. They are a relatively happy couple; their family rounded out by two children. At a faculty party, they meet Severin Winter, a Viennese-born professor and coach of the college wrestling team, and his wife, Edith. The couple's interests (Edith is an aspiring fiction writer, and Severin has a commonality with Utch's upbringing in Austria) and resulting infatuations between the couples lead to after-dinner partner-swapping. At first, the swinging goes smoothly, but eventually, uneven feelings and obsessions throw the couples off track. The title, The 158-Pound Marriage , refers to the 158-pound weight class in wrestling, which Severin, the coach, feels is the most competitive. The book is small, only 176 pages, compared to Irving's later weighty tomes, like the 610 page The World According to Garp ( 1978) and The Cider House Rules (1985), which is 973 pages.
Read More: Identifying first editions of The 158-Pound Marriage
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Details
- Bookseller
- Dale Steffey Books, ABAA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 002204
- Title
- The 158-Pound Marriage
- Author
- Irving, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1974
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
Terms of Sale
Dale Steffey Books, ABAA
Any book is returnable for any reason within 10 days for a complete refund, as long as it is returned in the same condition as when received. Please notify in advance of return. I accept checks, money orders, Mastercard, Visa, and bank wire transfer.
About the Seller
Dale Steffey Books, ABAA
Biblio member since 2006
Bloomington, Indiana
About Dale Steffey Books, ABAA
Online bookseller specializing in rare and collectible books in all fields. Books bought and sold from single item to entire collection.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Flap(s)
- The portion of a book cover or cover jacket that folds into the book from front to back. The flap can contain biographical...
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
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