PARK CITY: NEW AND SELECTED STORIES

New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998. Hardcover. As New/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 478 pages. Retrospective collection of short stories. Advance Reader's Edition/Limited Slipcased Edition of 500 copies. Precedes and should not be confused with the regular trade edition. The Limited Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Alfred A. Knopf: Regular-sized volume format. Blue hard boards with matching blue cloth overboards and gilt titles embossed on the spine, as issued. Glossy illustrated slipcase featuring a detailed reproduction of Lincoln Perry's dazzling semi-abstract painting. Printed on pristine-white, archival stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Ann Beattie's "Park City". Some of Ann Beattie's finest and most representative short stories, written over a twenty-five year period and at the peak of her powers. In addition, the first eight stories appear in book form for the very first time, showing the trajectory of her career as one of the most influential and iconic American writers of our time. "Beattie's prose has always been crisp, smart, with just a touch of the smart-aleck to it, and she can be remarkably funny. Her often nameless narrators tell their tales in the modulated tones of people for whom not wearing one's heart on one's sleeve is a religion" (Alix Wilbur) . The typical criticism about Ann Beattie is that she writes for the intellect. Since anti-intellectualism is a proud American cultural/intellectual tradition, her work will always have to settle for a relatively small but intensely loyal following. Just as her mentor, Raymond Carver, is a writer's writer whose influence broadened as his work filtered through popular culture, several of Ann Beattie's stories became the basis of Hollywood films that were seen by millions of people who have never heard of her. Not everyone wants wisdom from reading (nor wisdom itself) , many writers included, whereas the central theme of Ann Beattie's oeuvre is precisely the epiphanic, wistful yet biting quality of the subtlety called wisdom. An absolute "must-have" title for Anne Beattie collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black pen on the publisher's tipped-in page by Ann Beattie. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few copies of the Limited Slipcased Edition still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A scarce signed copy thus. One of the finest American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ANN BEATTIE TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 067945506X.