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The 158-Pound Marriage
by John Irving
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Random House, 1974. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo; 3/4 pale green paper over olive cloth, with titles stamped in gilt an/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Seller
-
Nashua, New Hampshire, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
The darker vision and sexual ambiguities of this erotic, ironic tale about a menage a quatre in a New England university town foreshadow those of The World According to Garp; but this very trim and precise novel is a marked departure from the author's generally robust, boisterous style. Though Mr. Irving's cool eye spares none of his foursome, he writes with genuine compassion for the sexual tests and illusions they perpetrate on each other; but the sexual intrigue between them demonstrates how even the kind can be ungenerous, and even the well-intentioned, destructive.
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
- YJS BOXES OF BOOKS
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- biblio 464
- Title
- The 158-Pound Marriage
- Author
- John Irving
- Book Condition
- Used - Random House, 1974. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo; 3/4 pale green paper over olive cloth, with titles stamped in gilt an
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Random House, 1974. First Edition. First Printing.
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Publisher
- Random House Inc
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- (1974)
- Bookseller catalogs
- FICTION / Romance / Adult;
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YJS BOXES OF BOOKS
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YJS BOXES OF BOOKS
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Nashua, New Hampshire
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Terms of sale for YJS BOXES OF BOOKS
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives improperly or damaged.
YJS BOXES OF BOOKS specializes in Autobiographies and Biographies of the Rich and Famous, First and Signed First Editions, Historical: Non-Fiction and Fiction, People, Places and Things, Modern Mysteries and Thrillers, Rare and Vintage
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