THE SOLOIST

New York City, NY: Random House, 1994. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Random House, 1994. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 284 pages. The author's second novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Mark Salzman's "The Soloist". His best book since his breakthrough debut, "Iron & Silk" (1986). A cult "crossover" classic among readers who are not lovers of classical music and classical music lovers who do not read, it is about "the difficulties encountered by talented children, dispassionately chronicled in this unusual story about a musical prodigy who as an adult must come to terms with his own mediocrity. When Reinhart Sundheimer's prodigious talent as a world-renowned cellist suddenly and inexplicably deserts him at age 18, he is bereft for he knows no other life than that of the concert stage and is accustomed to adulation. As a college professor who has never learned social skills, he is aloof from his colleagues and spends his spare time practicing in the vain hope that his genius will return. Then, in one event-filled week, the outside world invades his insular environment. First, he is called to jury duty and second, he agrees to give cello lessons to a 12-year-old prodigy. Interacting with other jurors during deliberations on a brutal murder case and reacting to the unpredictability of his student require emotional resources that he never knew he possessed. Both experiences result in personal insight that allows him to accept his limitations as a musician and gives him the courage to broaden his horizons as a human being" (Publisher's blurb). Salzman's now-considerable body of work has two underlying themes: The meaning of self-education, which involves the give-and-take between a great teacher and a brilliant protege, and the persistence of hope despite the possibility that not all of one's dreams may ever be fulfilled. An absolute "must-have" title for Mark Salzman collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by Mark Salzman. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. Finalist of the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 for "Iron & Silk". One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER MARK SALZMAN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0394570103.