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The 158-Pound Marriage

The 158-Pound Marriage

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The 158-Pound Marriage

by Irving, John

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Good/Very Good
ISBN 10
0394484142
ISBN 13
9780394484143
Seller
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About This Item

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Random House Inc, 1974. First Edition . Hardcover. Good/Very Good. 1974 Random House FIRST edition of Irving's 3rd novel. This book is ex-library with some of the typical markings mostly with stamps and faded tape ghosts on the outer boards. It is overall in G/VG+ condition. It is **SIGNED & INSCRIBED** on a lovely bookplate affixed to the half-title page. There is a library stamp on the ffep and a small triangle stamp on the inside boards. There is old glue residue on the inside rear endpaper and a repaired spine end. The HB has been price clipped and is mylar wrapped. There is virtually no wear at all. A very solid FIRST!

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

Seller
Bren-Books.com US (US)
Seller's Inventory #
4547
Title
The 158-Pound Marriage
Author
Irving, John
Format/Binding
Hardcover
Book Condition
Used - Good
Jacket Condition
Very Good
Quantity Available
1
Edition
First Edition
ISBN 10
0394484142
ISBN 13
9780394484143
Publisher
Random House Inc
Place of Publication
New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published
1974
Keywords
MAN WOMAN RELATIONSHIPS FICTION MARRIED
Bookseller catalogs
fiction-literature;

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About the Seller

Bren-Books.com

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2005
Rockville, Maryland

About Bren-Books.com

Bren-Books.Com specializes in first edition books specializing in Classic fiction, books made into films and mysteries. We also carry many SIGNED books both in fiction & non-fiction.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

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....
Bookplate
Highly sought after by some collectors, a book plate is an inscribed or decorative device that identifies the owner, or former...
Price Clipped
When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
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...
FFEP
A common abbreviation for Front Free End Paper. Generally, it is the first page of a book and is part of a single sheet that...

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