The Sellout
by Paul Beatty
- Used
- Fine
- Paperback
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Fine
- Seller
-
BATH, Somerset, United Kingdom
Item Price
A$487.00A$438.30
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Oneworld, 2016. First edition. Paperback. Fine. 8.5" by 5.5". None. A fine signed first edition of Paul Beatty's humorous Man Booker winning novel. The first edition, first impression of this work. This paperback is the true U.K. first, being published in the U.S. by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux the year previously.Signed by the author to the title page.Winner of the 2016 Man Booker Prize.'The Sellout' is an immensely entertaining novel set in Los Angeles, following the protagonist who grows artisanal marijuana and watermelons.Written by Paul Beatty, who was the first U.S. winner of the Man Booker. In the original publisher's paper wraps. Externally, fine. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are bright and clean. Fine
Reviews
On Jan 3 2018, a reader said:
The Sellout is the fourth novel by award-winning American author, Paul Beatty. It won the Man Booker Prize in 2016. Our narrator is the son of a psychologist by the name of Mee (who has dropped the second "e"). Until his untimely and unfortunate death at the hands of the Los Angeles Police, his father was known as the Nigger Whisper for his ability to talk down coloured folk attempting suicide, a role that has been thrust upon the narrator by default.
Since his father's death, he manages their farm in a suburban area of LA once known as the City of Dickens. A talented farmer, he grows, among other cash crops, square watermelons and pot, and his uniquely delicious produce is very popular locally. In the prologue, we find him summoned to appear before the Supreme Court of USA on charges of racial segregation and slavery.
Although our narrator's name is never mentioned, he is referred to by one character as The Sellout, and bears the nickname Bonbon from his performance in a school spelling bee. Beatty gives the reader a cast of quirky characters that includes a former child-actor, the Assistant Principal of the Chaff Middle School, a female bus driver and a has-been TV personality who rewrites classic texts into blackly correct books.
A former city is re-established via Freeway signs and a three-inch-wide white painted border. Meetings of the Dum Dum Donuts Intellectuals are the forum for black ideas and our protagonist employs a sort of reverse psychology that ends up in a resegregation push. He also provides novel take on blackface entertainment.
One World have produced editions of Beatty's four novel with themed covers and this one has a lawn jockey with a gas lamp on the cover, the significance of which becomes clear in the text. This satire has been described as brilliant, outrageous, demented, hilarious and profound, all succinct and accurate descriptors. Very entertaining.
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- Rooke Books (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 749P13
- Title
- The Sellout
- Author
- Paul Beatty
- Illustrator
- None
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First edition
- Publisher
- Oneworld
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 2016
- Size
- 8.5" by 5.5"
- Keywords
- The Sellout paul beatty man booker booker prize paul beatty california bonbon
Terms of Sale
Rooke Books
Books are sent on approval and may be returned in like condition for any reason within 14 days of receipt. Responsibility of return to be with the purchaser.
About the Seller
Rooke Books
Biblio member since 2007
BATH, Somerset
About Rooke Books
Welcome to Rooke Books Antiquarian Bookseller
We are a small team dedicated to bringing you very scarce books at reasonable prices. We specialise in rare and hard to come by works on all subjects over the last 500 years, together with modern first editions and decorative sets and bindings. Our library has something for every interest and specialism. We deliver worldwide using a fully tracked and insured courier delivery service.
Where are We?
Based in the literary city of Bath, our offices are housed in the Eastern Dispensary. Built in 1845, the building originally existed as a charitable institution providing medical care. The building now houses our collection of over twenty thousand books and has five full time members of staff.
We are a small team dedicated to bringing you very scarce books at reasonable prices. We specialise in rare and hard to come by works on all subjects over the last 500 years, together with modern first editions and decorative sets and bindings. Our library has something for every interest and specialism. We deliver worldwide using a fully tracked and insured courier delivery service.
Where are We?
Based in the literary city of Bath, our offices are housed in the Eastern Dispensary. Built in 1845, the building originally existed as a charitable institution providing medical care. The building now houses our collection of over twenty thousand books and has five full time members of staff.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- 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...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- 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...