THE WALL OF THE SKY, THE WALL OF THE EYE: STORIES

New York City, NY: Harcourt Brace, 1996. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Harcourt Brace, 1996. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 294 pages. The author's debut collection of short stories. 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 Jonathan Lethem's "The Wall of The Sky, The Wall of The Eye: Stories". Seven stories that affirm the author's stature as one of the most inventive and innovative contemporary American writers. The title is an "hommage" allusion to the work of the great German silent film director, Fritz Lang, one of the giants of cinema. Lethem is, by now, probably our most brilliant deconstructionist of every literary genre and sub-genre (and also cinema). Still, although his starting point is always an established form, Jonathan Lethem's ultimate goal is to reinvent these literary genres and more important, to create his own singular and oddly moving universe. "Like Kafka, Lethem delights in understanding the astonishing and he is at his devious best in these perverse and incandescent tales. My favorite is one that won't be mentioned because of its title" (Terry Bisson). It's the brilliant story called "Five F----". An absolute "must-have" title for Jonathan Lethem collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed in black pen on the title page by Jonathan Lethem. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. His signature virtually fills up the 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. Winner of the Crawford Award for Best Fantasy Novel and the Locus Award for Best First Novel in 1994 for "Gun, With Occasional Music". Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999 for "Motherless Brooklyn". Selected as one of the "Best Books of The Year" by the New York Times in 2003 for "Fortress of Solitude". Winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2005. One of the most brilliant new voices in American literature. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER JONATHAN LETHEM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0151001804.