Child of God
by McCarthy, Cormac
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- Signed
- first
- Condition
- Near fine/very good +
- Seller
-
Walnut Creek, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
This work, "Child of God" was McCarthy's third novel and was published to critical praise. As stated in the New York Times book review (dated 12-5-73): "It's interesting to see how a good writer can make us care about a 'bad' character. I mean bad in a moral sense. Talent, [it] seems, can find the humanity behind the inhuman, the pathos that comes from being out of step with the world, the loneliness, like death, that is the wages of sin."
This the first edition, first printing, signed simply "Cormac McCarthy" in blue ink on the title page.
___DESCRIPTION: Blue cloth shelfback over red paper-covered boards, gilt lettering stamped onto the spine, front board with blind-debossed rule and the author's initials, First Edition stated on copyright page (which per Zempel denotes the first printing for Random House), McCarthy's signature on the title page; octavo size (8 3/8" by 5 5/8"), pagination: [i-vi] [1-2] 3-197 [1, blank] [1, author bio]. Dust jacket with white, green and red lettering on a black ground, front flap with short summary of the book, back flap with author bio and review blurbs from "The Orchard Keeper" and "Outer Dark", reproduction of a black-and-white photograph of McCarthy on the back panel.
___CONDITION: Near fine; the binding clean and without wear, the gilt on the spine unrubbed, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior clean and bright, and entirely free of prior owner markings; two short, faint marks on the front pastedown (that may be residue from an old price sticker) and a hint of sunning to the top edges, else fine. The dust jacket has been price-clipped, otherwise better than very good, clean, with minor edgewear most noticeable at the tail of the spine and light sunning to the spine.
___PROVENANCE: We acquired this book from a collector who purchased it from an ABAA member who confirmed the signature, details available upon request.
___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.
___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help.
Synopsis
Child of God is the third novel by American author Cormac McCarthy. Though the novel received critical praise, it was not a financial success. Like its predecessor, Outer Dark, Child of God established McCarthy's interest in using extreme isolation, perversity, and violence to represent normal human experience. Set in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the 1960s, Child of God tells the story of Lester Ballard, an outcast from society. Released from jail after being falsely accused of rape, Ballard haunts the countryside, falling into deeper and deeper crime and perversion. Considered McCarthy's darkest work.
Read More: Identifying first editions of Child of God
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Details
- Bookseller
- Swan's Fine Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- CNJZ0029
- Title
- Child of God
- Author
- McCarthy, Cormac
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near fine
- Jacket Condition
- very good +
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1973
- Keywords
- Literature, Modern Lit, National Book Award, National Book Critics Circle Award
Terms of Sale
Swan's Fine Books
About the Seller
Swan's Fine Books
About Swan's Fine Books
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- 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....
- 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...
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- 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...
- ABAA
- ...
- IOBA
- ...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- ILAB
- ...
- Copyright page
- The page in a book that describes the lineage of that book, typically including the book's author, publisher, date of...
- 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...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...