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The 158-Pound Marriage
by Irving, John
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/No Jacket
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Seller
-
Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
NY: Random House; (1974). First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. First printing of the author's third novel, very good with no dust jacket. Small triangular "BTP" sticker at top of front pastedown, small hole in front gutter that appears to be caused by a binding flaw. The top edge of the page block is a little spotted, and the top corners are bumped. A tight, square copy without names or other markings
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.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Tulsa Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 020458
- Title
- The 158-Pound Marriage
- Author
- Irving, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- No Jacket
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Publisher
- Random House; (1974)
- Place of Publication
- NY
- This edition first published
- 1974
Terms of Sale
Tulsa Books
Books are shipped promptly upon receipt of payment. Any item may be returned within 10 days of receipt for a full refund of the purchase price. Shipping costs are not refunded unless the item was not as described.
About the Seller
Tulsa Books
Biblio member since 2008
Tulsa, Oklahoma
About Tulsa Books
Internet only bookseller specializing in modern first editions, signed books, western americana, and general interest out of print books.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gutter
- The inside margin of a book, connecting the pages to the joints near the binding.
- Tight
- Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.
- 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...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
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