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The 158-Pound Marriage
by Irving, John
- Used
- near fine
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Near Fine in Mylar Cover
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Seller
-
SANDY, Oregon, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Random House, 1974. First Edition, First Printing. Cloth & Boards. Near Fine/Near Fine in Mylar Cover. A handsome First Edition (so stated), First Printing of John Irving's third book, signed for Parrish Books at Barnes & Noble in New York by the author on the title page. In fine condition but for touches of wear and edge fading to the green spine head and foot (common to this edition). With number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 and "First Edition," indicative of a Random House true first printing. The dustjacket is complete with the original price ($5.95) and "10/74" on the rear flap and is in fine condition but for touches of wear at the edges and creases (minor). John Irving is one of America's best known authors whose works include "The World According to Garp," "Setting Free the Bears," "A Prayer for Owen Meany," "The Cider House Rules," and "A Widow for One Year.
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
- Parrish Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1938
- Title
- The 158-Pound Marriage
- Author
- Irving, John
- Format/Binding
- Cloth & Boards
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Near Fine in Mylar Cover
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition, First Printing
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1974
Terms of Sale
Parrish Books
A full refund (including postage) will be issued if the book you receive is not as described. A full refund of the purchase price (less postage) will be issued if the seller is notified within 5 days of receipt and the book is returned within 10 days of receipt in the original condition. We only ship international orders by air because of the delays that often occur. We refund excess postage after shipping and insurance costs are calculated. We do not charge for packing materials or handling. Our PayPal address is Parrish@ParrishBooks.com
About the Seller
Parrish Books
Biblio member since 2006
SANDY, Oregon
About Parrish Books
Parrish Books is a full-time on-line dealer in fine collectible books in business since 2002. With specialities in signed limited editions and many favorite authors including Ray Bradbury, Richard Bach, Tom Clancy, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, Edward Gorey and Maurice Sendak. We specialize in exceptional customer service and quality packaging of all orders.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Number Line
- A series of numbers appearing on the copyright page of a book, where the lowest number generally indicates the printing of that...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- 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...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
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