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The 158-Pound Marriage

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The 158-Pound Marriage

by IRVING, John

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  • first
Condition
fine/fine
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About This Item

New York: Random House, 1974. First. hardcover. fine/fine. 8vo, cloth backed boards, d.w. New York: Random House, (1974). First Edition<br/> <br/>

Synopsis

The 158-Pound Marriage,  author John Irving's third published novel, revolves around an unidentified narrator, a college professor, and a mediocre novelist. The narrator met his wife Utch, an orphaned survivor of WWII, in Vienna while doing research. They are a relatively happy couple; their family rounded out by two children. At a faculty party, they meet Severin Winter, a Viennese-born professor and coach of the college wrestling team, and his wife, Edith. The couple's interests (Edith is an aspiring fiction writer, and Severin has a commonality with Utch's upbringing in Austria) and resulting infatuations between the couples lead to after-dinner partner-swapping. At first, the swinging goes smoothly, but eventually, uneven feelings and obsessions throw the couples off track. The title,  The 158-Pound Marriage , refers to the 158-pound weight class in wrestling, which Severin, the coach, feels is the most competitive. The book is small, only 176 pages, compared to Irving's later weighty tomes, like the 610 page  The World According to Garp ( 1978) and  The Cider House Rules  (1985), which is 973 pages.

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Details

Bookseller
Argosy Book Store US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
227462
Title
The 158-Pound Marriage
Author
IRVING, John
Format/Binding
Hardcover
Book Condition
Used - fine
Jacket Condition
fine
Quantity Available
1
Edition
First
Publisher
Random House
Place of Publication
New York
Date Published
1974

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Argosy Book Store

All items are offered net, subject to prior sale. Returns accepted within 7 days of receipt--please contact us first. Payment by Visa , Mastercard & American Express. Appropriate sales tax will be added for all N.Y. State residents

About the Seller

Argosy Book Store

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2004
New York, New York

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We are a large retail store, with 6 floors of out-of-print and rare books, (including, Americana, modern first editions, history of medicine and science), antique maps and prints, autograph manuscripts, letters & signatures.

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Cloth
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