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The Centaur
by John Updike
- Used
- good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Good/Good
- Seller
-
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Alfred A. Knopf, 1963. 1st Edition . Hardcover. Good/Good. 303 pages, with index of Greek mythological references. "First and second printings before publication." The Centaur received the National Book Award for Fiction in 1964. 8vo, gray boards sunned tan and lightly soiled, black cloth backstrip with gilt and silver gilt lettering, top edge decoratively tinted red, other edges and page margins age-toned, in unclipped ($4.00) DJ with considerable wear to edges and two tears in back flap fold (1" at bottom, 2" in middle). Names of former owners Ann and Warner Berthoff written on ffep with date March 1963, his marginalia on front flap of DJ and approximately 13 pages.
Synopsis
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic. His novel, The Centaur, won the National Book Award in 1964. It is the story of George Caldwell, an aging, self-deprecating high school teacher and his bewildered son Peter, taking place in a small Pennsylvania town. The two end up spending a few days in town when their car breaks down and then there is a blizzard, stranding them for an additional night. The book compares each character to a character in Greek mythology revealing an exploration in storytelling and stylistic variation. The interweaving of classic myth and small town life is absolutely brilliant.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Berthoff Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- WBB-454
- Title
- The Centaur
- Author
- John Updike
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Jacket Condition
- Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition
- Publisher
- Alfred A. Knopf
- Date Published
- 1963
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- UPDIKE, NOVEL, GREEK MYTHOLOGY, PROMETHEUS MYTH, PENNSYLVANIA
- Bookseller catalogs
- American Literature; John Updike;
Terms of Sale
Berthoff Books
Return guaranteed, with full refund including original shipping costs, up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. Returns up to seven days for other reasons will be refunded exclusive of shipping cost, upon receipt of the returned book.
We process orders and ship books within 48 hours. We cannot cancel an order after it has shipped. Please contact Berthoff Books immediately to request cancellation of a processed order; if we catch the book before it has shipped, we will confirm that the purchaser may cancel the order with full refund.
Our standard domestic shipping rate is for USPS Media Mail shipments weighing up to 2 lb. Books are packaged in bubble-pack envelopes or a cardboard box with moisture protection. International shipping rates are for packages weighing up to 2 lb (0.9 kg). Heavier or oversized items may incur a shipping surcharge, which will be stated to the buyer before finalization of the transaction. Shipping charge may be reduced on some books weighing less than 1 lb to U.S. addresses. International Priority shipping charges may be reduced on books that fit in a USPS small flat-rate box. International Standard (First-Class Package International) shipping charges may be reduced for a second or more books if the total package weight does not exceed 2 lb. Shipping speeds are estimates based on carrier delivery times and cannot be guaranteed. If your order will pass through Customs, please expect a delay. Any applicable Customs duties or brokerage fees are the responsibility of the buyer.
We process orders and ship books within 48 hours. We cannot cancel an order after it has shipped. Please contact Berthoff Books immediately to request cancellation of a processed order; if we catch the book before it has shipped, we will confirm that the purchaser may cancel the order with full refund.
Our standard domestic shipping rate is for USPS Media Mail shipments weighing up to 2 lb. Books are packaged in bubble-pack envelopes or a cardboard box with moisture protection. International shipping rates are for packages weighing up to 2 lb (0.9 kg). Heavier or oversized items may incur a shipping surcharge, which will be stated to the buyer before finalization of the transaction. Shipping charge may be reduced on some books weighing less than 1 lb to U.S. addresses. International Priority shipping charges may be reduced on books that fit in a USPS small flat-rate box. International Standard (First-Class Package International) shipping charges may be reduced for a second or more books if the total package weight does not exceed 2 lb. Shipping speeds are estimates based on carrier delivery times and cannot be guaranteed. If your order will pass through Customs, please expect a delay. Any applicable Customs duties or brokerage fees are the responsibility of the buyer.
About the Seller
Berthoff Books
Biblio member since 2021
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia
About Berthoff Books
Berthoff Books sells books previously owned by the late Warner B. Berthoff, Professor of English and American Literature, emeritus, at Harvard University, and members of his family. Some books contain marginalia by Warner Berthoff, the late Prof. Ann E. Berthoff (U. Mass-Boston, English composition and rhetoric), or others, which we aim to describe accurately. Our inventory features English and American fiction and poetry, 20th-century literary criticism, world literature, history, and philosophy. Other categories are history and politics of Australia, Asia, South Africa and the Middle East; intelligence agencies and gnostic beliefs; Russian literature and criticism; and Russian and Soviet history.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Soiled
- Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
- 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...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- Marginalia
- Marginalia, in brief, are notes written in the margins, or beside the text of a book by a previous owner. This is very...
- FFEP
- A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...
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