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Taft

by Ann Patchett


ISBN: 0395694612
ISBN-13: 9780395694619
Format: Hardcover

Summary

This novel tells the simple story of a man's intense desire to be reunited with his son. John Nickel is a Black musician in Memphis. A protective man by nature, he sympathizes with Carl and Fay Taft, a young white brother and sister who seek work at his blues bar. Despite the trouble they cause him, the pity they induce in him helps him to define his morals. The narration is in Nickel's voice, alternating between the dark events of the story and his imagination.

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Media Reviews

"Comparisons are tempting: to the unabashed romanticism of Laurie Colwin, the eccentric characters of Anne Tyler, the enchantments of Alice Hoffman. But Ann Patchett is unique: a generous, fearless, and startlingly wise young writer...Expect miracles when you read Ann Patchett's fiction."    -- Diana Postlethwaite

   -- New York Times Book Review

"Ann Patchett's young, she's fearless, she's uncommonly smart and skillful-that rare thing, a born novelist...Taft jostles easy assumptions with grace and daring. A brave, disturbing book."    -- Beverly Lowry

"Not only has (Patchett) written one of the most winning evocations of a father's love that I can think of, but she has lodged it in a first-person narrative by the middle-aged black manager of a Memphis bar....Patchett manages the lightness and the sorrow with an equilibrium that does both justice."    -- Richard Eder

   -- Los Angeles Times

"Patchett writes with remarkable conviction and attention to telling detail....She is excellent at portraying the steady love and interest that holds the family members together."    -- Jane Smiley

   -- Mirabella

"What's really peculiar...is the unself-conscious way this amiable novel reaffirms a writer's imaginative access to any and all experience....The tone is so steady and strong that the increasingly dangerous surprises delivered here catch you up every time."

   -- New Yorker

Bibliographic Details

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Published date: 1994
Size: 5.75 x 8.75 inches
Weight: 1.15 pounds
Pages: 305

Publisher's Notes

John Nickel, an African-American blues musician managing a Memphis bar, hires a white brother and sister, even though he knows they mean trouble, as he pines to be reunited with his son. By the author of The Patron Saint of Liars. National ad/promo. Tour.

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1) Taft
Ann Patchett

Houghton Mifflin Company. Used - Good. Published: 1994. Hardcover.1st Ed. Dust jacket: Acceptable. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! Good condition, showing modest signs of wear. (more information)

Offered by Experienced Books LLC (United States)
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2) TAFT CL
Ann Patchett

A nice copy. Gently used. All pages and cover clear of markings. Good dustjacket. Binding is a little loose. No creases. (more information)

Offered by Once Sold Tales (United States)
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3) Taft
Patchett, Ann

hard cover, cover has some minor edge/shelf wear, nice clean pages, tight binding, good copy. 84D (more information)

Offered by A Bookworm (United States)
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4) Taft
Patchett, Ann

hard cover, cover has some minor edge/shelf wear, nice clean pages, tight binding, good overall copy. 27H (more information)

Offered by A Bookworm (United States)
Price: $3.65
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5) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Dj has minimal shelf rubbing/edge wear.. Second Printing. Hard Cover with dust jacket. Very Good/Very Good. Trade size. No markings, no tears. (more information)

Offered by Buy The Book Again (United States)
Price: $3.95
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6) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. like new book in very good plus dj. no apparent flaws. great copy.. Hard Cover. Like New/Very Good Plus. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall. (more information)

Offered by Martin Lanaux, Bookseller (United States)
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7) Taft
Ann Patchett

Houghton Mifflin Company, October, 1994. Hardcover. Very Good/VERY GOOD. (more information)

Offered by Browsers Bookstore (United States)
Price: $5.00
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8) Taft
Patchett, Ann

: Houghton Mifflin Co.. Very Good/Very Good. 1994. Hard Cover. 0395694612 . (more information)

Offered by bookstore brengelman (United States)
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9) Taft
PATCHETT, ANN

Houghton Mifflin, 1994 Hardcover. Remainder. (more information)

Offered by Landing Bookstore & Newsstand (United States)
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10) Taft
PATCHETT, ANN

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: HOUGHTON MIFFLIN CO., 1994 VERY GOOD IN VERY GOOD DUSTJACKET-FIRST EDITION. (more information)

Offered by Madison Antiquarian Books (United States)
Price: $7.50
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11) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. A clean tight book. Feels unread. No defects. Jacket has a 1/4" tear at the bottom spine. 305 pages.. ISBN: 0-395-69461-2. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Fine/Near Fine in Brodart. Illus. by N/A. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Fiction, Black Musicians. (more information)

Offered by Pulp Fiction (United States)
Price: $8.00
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12) Taft
Patchett, Ann

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994 3rd Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. (more information)

Offered by BookTown USA (United States)
Price: $8.16
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13) TAFT CL
Patchett, Ann

Houghton Mifflin. Hardcover. 0395694612 Very good in Very good little torn dust jacket. First Edition. ...Experience, Quality, Value.... . Very Good. (more information)

Offered by Robinson Street Books (United States)
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14) TAFT FREE SHIPPING
Patchett, Ann

New York NY: Houghton Mifflin. 1994. First Edition. Hardcover. 0395694612 . Very Good in Very Good dust jacket . (more information)

Offered by Gibson's Books (United States)
Price: $10.00
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15) Taft : A Novel
Patchett, Ann

Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. 3rd Printing. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. (more information)

Offered by PBO Books (United States)
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16) TAFT
PATCHETT, ANN

NEW ENGLAND MOBILE BOOK FAIR, 194. HARDBACK. VG/VG. (more information)

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17) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. An important First Edition in collector's condition--tight, bright and fresh. Number line has a "1"; original price intact on dust jacket. Following her well-received debut, The Patron Saint of Liars , Patchett convincingly portrays a bar manager's conflicted feelings for a teenage waitress in this tale of fatherhood and unfulfilled dreams. Narrator John Nickel runs a bar called Muddy's on Memphis's Beale Street. He took the job to help provide for his lover, Marion, and their 10-year-old son, Franklin, who have since moved away, leaving him concerned that the boy lacks paternal guidance. When 17-year-old Fay Taft shows up at Muddy's, lies about her age and asks for a job, Nickel is touched by her neediness and hires her. But he doesn't bargain on her growing desire for him, or on her drug-dealer brother, who brings sleazy clients to the bar. Another complication is the issue of race--Fay is white, Nickel black--but the author concentrates on the color-blind moral problems that any family faces. As Nickel contemplates his own predicaments, he imagines scenes of the Tafts in a stable home before their father died. His sincere sense of responsibility--to his son, to Fay, even to Fay's no-good brother--is conveyed with visceral power. ISBN: 0395694612. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover in Dust Jacket. Fine/Fine. TENNESSEE FICTION FATHERS SONS. (more information)

Offered by The Long Island Book Company (United States)
Price: $11.96
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18) Taft
Patchett, Ann

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Dust jacket protected by Brodart protective cover. . First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fine. (more information)

Offered by Ash Grove Heirloom Books (United States)
Price: $12.00
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19) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. 1994. First Printing. Hardcover. 0395694612 . About new book, unmarked, in lightly rubbed dj. ; Author's second Nove . (more information)

Offered by B-Line Books (Canada)
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20) Taft
, Patchett

Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. EX-LIBRARY EXPECTED MARKINGS AND ATTACHMENTS. ILLUSTRATED DUST JACKET WRAPPED IN MYLAR. GREEN HALF-CLOTH COVER. INTERIOR PAGES STAMPED "DISCARD" AND HAVE LIGHT FINGERING TO MARGINS WITH LIBRARY STAMPS MARKED OUT. (more information)

Offered by Mybooklocator (United States)
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21) TAFT
Patchett, Ann

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. . First printing. . Fine in a a near fine dustjacket (crease to front flap of dj.) . The story of John Nickel, a black ex-musician, manager of a Memphis bar. Second novel by this highly praised writer. Patchett commented that in many ways this is her favorite novel. 305 pp. (more information)

Offered by bookfever.com (United States)
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22) Taft
Patchett, Ann

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Dust jacket protected by Brodart protective cover. NEW COPY.. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Fine/Very Fine. (more information)

Offered by Ash Grove Heirloom Books (United States)
Price: $17.50
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23) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Very Fine/Very Fine DJ Houghton Mifflin 1994 1st edition. hardcover 305 pages, 1st edition,1st printing.Not clipped,no markings.Not remaindered. (more information)

Offered by Enterprise Books (United States)
Price: $18.00
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24) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. 1st wdition, 1st printing, 8vo, quarter cloth, very good in a very good unclipped dust jacket. pp 305. First Edition. Quarter Cloth. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo. (more information)

Offered by Hava Books (United Kingdom)
Price: £12.00 ($18.04)
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25) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1994. 1st Ed., 1st Printing, numbered row 10-1, HB/DJ, F/NF, 305 pp. DJ has tiny wrinkles at bottom of spine, pin-head size dot of rubbing on front bottom corner and rear top corner. Author won award from ALA's Notable Books Council. "Taft" is the story of John Nickel, a black ex-musician, whose son is taken away from him. He manages a Memphis bar and hires a young white waitress named Fay Taft. Nickel sympathizes with Taft and her brother Carl. Nickel is consumed with the idea of Taft, Fay and Carl's dead father. He begins to reconstruct the life of a man he never met, and begins to define the priorities of his own life.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Near Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Our Bookshelf (United States)
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26) Taft
Patchett, Ann

NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. White, clean, crisp and bright First Edition, First Printing (1st Edition/1st Printing) with dustjacket. A very SHARP copy! All of our books are hand selected and are as described. Mylar protective sleeves are available. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. (more information)

Offered by Abandoned Books (United States)
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27) TAFT CL
Ann Patchett

Houghton Mifflin, 1994-10-03. Hardcover. New/New . as pictured and described, hardbound with dust jacket in excellent condition (more information)

Offered by Live Oak Books (United States)
Price: $19.98
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28) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin, 1994 Slight soiling to the cream card boards. Hand written editorial comments, notes and a couple quotes to sell the book on the inside board and first page. . First Edition. Soft Cover. Near Fine. Uncorrected Proof. (more information)

Offered by Bytown Bookshop (Canada)
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29) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. Fine in Very Good jacket Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 1994, 1st print, autographed, crease at bottom of dj , FC04282.. Signed by Author. 1st Print. Hard Cover. Fine/Very Good. (more information)

Offered by BookCollector.net (United States)
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30) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin, 1994 USED - Standard. Book/DJ have only very minor reading wear- book was gently read; binding is square and tight; text is clean and unmarked. DJ in mylar wrap. Signed by author on title page. BOOKSMART offers free domestic shipping (media mail) on orders of three or more books. . Signed by Author. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Booksmart (United States)
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31) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. (2d) Slightly smaller book, brown cloth spine, deep blue boards, pin hole at bottom front spine indentation, gilt lettering and design bright on spine, microtear at bottom of first front end paper near spine, 305 lightly browned pages. DJ glossy with color-illustration of restaurant on front, dark blue back with praise from Beverly Lowry, Jane Smiley for "The Patron Saint of Leas" from Alice McDermott, Los Angeles Times Book Review. DJ has tiny crease at bottom front tip. Near Very Fine DJ/Very Fine book.. 2d. Hard Cover. Very Fine/Near Very Fine. (more information)

Offered by Callaghan Books South (United States)
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32) TAFT
Patchett, Ann

Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994 305 pp., 1/4 brown cloth w/ blue-green boards & gold lettering; Dust jacket in clear archival cover; Book has rubber stamp to top of page block; Jacket shows minor wear to ends of spine & flap folds w/ light creasing near top edge of front panel / SIGNED by the author on the title page. Author of "The Patron Saint of Liars." /. Signed by Author on Title Page. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by High Castle Books, IOBA (United States)
Price: $25.00
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33) Taft : A Novel
Patchett, Ann

Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994 Near Fine/Near Fine. The author has SIGNED the title page. Minor wear at points and spine edges. Minor edge wear on DJ. The DJ is protected in Mylar. Room 1 - Wall. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine. (more information)

Offered by Books Inc (United States)
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34) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin, 1994 Tight, clean, signed. . Signed by Author. 1st. Near Fine/Near Fine. (more information)

Offered by Burke's Book Store (United States)
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35) Taft
Patchett, Ann

New York, NY, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. Dust jacket protected by Brodart protective cover. NEW COPY.. Signed by Author on Title Page. First Edition, First Printing. Hard Cover. Very Fine/Very Fine. (more information)

Offered by Ash Grove Heirloom Books (United States)
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36) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Boston, MA, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994, 1994. Paperback. Fine. First Edition, First Printing. Uncorrected Proof.. First Edition, First Printing. Paperback. Fine. Uncorrected Proof. (more information)

Offered by Black Dog Books (United States)
Price: $43.65
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37) Taft
Ann Patchett

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1994 handsome copy.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. 8vo. (more information)

Offered by Gumshoe Books (United States)
Price: $45.00
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38) TAFT [First Edition] 1st
Patchett, Ann

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co, 1994. Fine in a Fine dust jacket.. First Edition First Printing. (more information)

Offered by Rare Book Cellar (United States)
Price: $65.00
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39) TAFT [ 1st ]
Patchett, Ann

New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.. First Edition First Printing. (more information)

Offered by Rare Book Cellar (United States)
Price: $80.00
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40) Taft
Patchett, Ann

Wilmington, Massachusetts, U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin, 1994. Signed by the author on the title page. Like New!. Signed by Author. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Fine/Very Fine. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. (more information)

Offered by Wayward Books (United States)
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