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Pack of Cards: Stories 1978-1986
by Lively, Penelope
- Used
- Paperback
- first
- Condition
- F+
- ISBN 10
- 0802111564
- ISBN 13
- 9780802111562
- Seller
-
Concord, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Grove Press. F+. 1988. Uncorrected Proof; 1st Printing. Paperback. 0802111564 . Uncorrected proof stamped with date Dec 05 1988; 323 p. .
Synopsis
Though Lively (Moon Tiger; Perfect Happiness) can be satirical, even wicked, these 36 stories (two earlier collections from England plus assorted recent stories, some published in US magazines) are mostly gentle, affectionate portraits of English men and women who muddle through. While there's a host of types and situations here, most center on village streets, petty bourgeoisie society, and academia. In truth, when a character in "Venice, Now and Then" says that "Things are so inconstant. That's the trouble," she could be speaking for most of her fictional cohorts: an aging English lady with insomnia ("The Voice of God in Adelaide Terrace"); a befuddled housewife whose "treasure" of a maid turns out to be a domineering sneak-thief ("Help"); and a professor suffering through the small humiliations of academia ("Revenant as Typewriter"), among many others. In addition to "Help," other notables include: "Nothing Missing but the Samovar," about a German Anglophile who spends a touching season with a sympathetically drawn family of shabbygenteel aristocrats at the end of their economic tether; "Corruption," a delicately textured portrait involving an aging judge, his wife, a female interloper, and a box of confiscated pornography; "The Pill Box," very short and a little metafictional ("How, having glimpsed the possibility of the impossible, can the world remain as steady as you had supposed?"); and" The Dream Merchant," a whimsical portrait of a sensible man who sells dreams from 9:30-5:00 but doesn't believe in them: "that was the secret of his success." Occasionally cloying or thin, but mostly solid work, full of character, incident, and elegiac charm. (Kirkus Reviews)
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Details
- Seller
- Berkshire Books
(US)
- Seller's Inventory #
- 1970
- Title
- Pack of Cards: Stories 1978-1986
- Author
- Lively, Penelope
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- Used - F+
- Edition
- Uncorrected Proof; 1st Printing
- ISBN 10
- 0802111564
- ISBN 13
- 9780802111562
- Publisher
- Grove Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1988
- Keywords
- 0802111564, Short stories, American authors, Grove Press, Uncorrected proofs
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature;
Terms of Sale
Berkshire Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
Most of our books are oversized, and some orders may require additional shipping. If a book is lighter, we will adjust shipping prices downward.
California residents will be charged state sales tax.
About the Seller
Berkshire Books
Biblio member since 2005
Concord, California
About Berkshire Books
We're a general, full-service used bookshop located in central Contra Costa County, California.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Uncorrected Proof
- An uncorrected proof is a printed copy of a book that needs to be reviewed for errors and corrections. They are released prior...
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