New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947. First Edition. 1 vols. 8vo. Greyish cloth, spine darkened , soiled, bumped, edges browned. Internally good. First Edition. 1 vols. 8vo. Lowry's brilliant symbolic novel about Europeans living in Mexico, his best and most famous book.

Synopsis

Malcolm Lowry’s Under the Volcano tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the small Mexican town of Quauhnahuac, on the Day of the Dead in 1938. The novel was precipitated by a short story he wrote after a trip to Mexico with his wife. The story was expanded into a novel completed in 1940, but was rejected and then revised multiple times before finally getting published in 1947. Under the Volcano thoroughly demonstrates Lowry’s highly stylistic writing choices. Drawing heavily upon autobiographical material (Lowry himself was well-known to be an alcoholic), the author amplifies the complexity of the story with unexpected narrative shifts and allusive layers of symbolism. In fact, the complexity of Under the Volcano has been compared with James Joyce’s stylistic masterpiece, Ulysses. The novel was out of print by the time Lowry died of alcoholism in 1957, yet is critically acclaimed today. The Modern Library ranked Under the Volcano eleventh on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. TIME included the book in its list of 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present. In 1984, John Huston directed a film adaptation of Under the Volcano. It received Oscar nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Original Score.

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Details

Bookseller: James Cummins Bookseller (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 31132
Title: Under the Volcano
Author: Lowry, Malcolm
Format/Binding: 1 vols. 8vo
Book Condition: Used - Greyish cloth, spine darkened , soiled, bumped, edges browned. Internally good
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Reynal & Hitchcock
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: 1947
Keywords: British
Bookseller catalogs: Literature;

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James Cummins Bookseller

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James Cummins Bookseller

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About James Cummins Bookseller

Founded in 1978 by James Cummins, the firm has grown to include two New Jersey locations as well as the main store at 699 Madison Avenue (between 62nd and 63rd Streets) in New York City.Hours: Monday - Friday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (During July & August, until 4:00 p.m. on Fridays.)The Madison Avenue store is a seventh-floor oasis for book-lovers, a quiet and pleasantly furnished book room with a carefully chosen, expertly catalogued and broad-based selection of fine and rare books, autographs, manuscripts, and works of art. We have built notable private collections for American and international clients. Our stock is always changing, and our steady input from private buying and public auctions assures our clients of new surprises (and temptations!) at each visit. Our stock covers a wide range of collecting interests, with particular emphasis in the following fields: British and American Literature, Sporting Books, Private Press and Illustrated Books, 19th-Century Color Plate Books, Americana, Travel, Sets and Fine Bindings, History, and Authors' Manuscripts and Letters. Our catalogued inventory exceeds 50,000 titles, much of which can be searched on the internet. In addition, our New Jersey warehouse contains over 400,000 books in all subject areas. We might have the books you're looking for.

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Cloth: "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Soiled: Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
Edges: The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
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...