Child of God

New York: Random House, 1973. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good +. First printing, octavo size, 205 pp., signed by Cormac McCarthy. Cormac McCarthy (born Charles Joseph McCarthy, Jr., in 1933), is acknowledged by many as one of the greatest contemporary American writers. His first novel, "The Orchard Keeper", won a 1966 William Faulkner Foundation Award for notable first novel; "All the Pretty Horses" would win the National Book Award in 1992, and "No Country for Old Men", conceived as a screen play (and later turned into a novel) won four Academy Awards. He would eventually author twelve novels, three short stories, five screenplays and two plays.

This work, "Child of God" was McCarthy's third novel and was published to critical praise. As stated in the New York Times book review (dated 12-5-73): "It's interesting to see how a good writer can make us care about a 'bad' character. I mean bad in a moral sense. Talent, [it] seems, can find the humanity behind the inhuman, the pathos that comes from being out of step with the world, the loneliness, like death, that is the wages of sin."

This the first edition, first printing, signed simply "Cormac McCarthy" in blue ink on the title page.

___DESCRIPTION: Blue cloth shelfback over red paper-covered boards, gilt lettering stamped onto the spine, front board with blind-debossed rule and the author's initials, First Edition stated on copyright page (which per Zempel denotes the first printing for Random House), McCarthy's signature on the title page; octavo size (8 3/8" by 5 5/8"), pagination: [i-vi] [1-2] 3-197 [1, blank] [1, author bio]. Dust jacket with white, green and red lettering on a black ground, front flap with short summary of the book, back flap with author bio and review blurbs from "The Orchard Keeper" and "Outer Dark", reproduction of a black-and-white photograph of McCarthy on the back panel.

___CONDITION: Near fine; the binding clean and without wear, the gilt on the spine unrubbed, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; two short, faint marks on the front pastedown (that may be residue from an old price sticker) and a hint of sunning to the top edges, else fine. The dust jacket has been price-clipped, otherwise better than very good, clean, with minor edgewear most noticeable at the tail of the spine and light sunning to the spine.

___PROVENANCE: We acquired this book from a collector who purchased it from an ABAA member who confirmed the signature, details available upon request.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

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