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The 158-Pound Marriage. by John Irving
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The 158-Pound Marriage. by John Irving Paperback - 1986

by John Irving


About this book

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.

First line

My wife, Utchka (whose name I some time ago shortened to Utch), could teach patience to a time bomb.

First Edition Identification

The First edition of The 158-Pound Marriage was published on August 12, 1974, by Random House. "First Edition" is stated to copyright page, and number line begins with 2, per Random House's custom of identifying first edition (98765432). The American edition has a $5.95 printed on the front flap of the dust jacket. This is a scarce novel in first edition state, of which only around 2,600 were printed.

Details

  • Title The 158-Pound Marriage. by John Irving
  • Author John Irving
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 240
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Black Swan Books, Limited, London
  • Date July 1, 1986
  • ISBN 9780552992084 / 0552992089
  • Dewey Decimal Code 813.54
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The 158-Pound Marriage

The 158-Pound Marriage

by Irving, John

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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The 158-Pound Marriage
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The 158-Pound Marriage

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The 158-Pound Marriage
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The 158-Pound Marriage

by Irving, John

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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The 158-pound Marriage (Black Swan)

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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by Irving, John

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by Irving, John

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THE 158-POUND MARRIAGE (BLACK SWAN)

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