Random House, August 1974. First Edition. Hardcover. Collectible - Very Good/Very Good. First edition stated; first printing; number line beginning with 2, as was the protocol for Random House. A Very Good copy in like dustjacket. Small p.o. signature on front free endpaper, very light rubbing to corners and spine ends. An attractive dustjacket with the lightest of rubbing at the corners and spine ends. Not price-clipped. In a mylar cover.

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: Dunaway Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 184108
Title: The 158-Pound Marriage
Author: John Irving
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used - Collectible - Very Good
Jacket Condition: Very Good
Quantity Available: 1
Edition: First Edition
ISBN 10: 0394484142
ISBN 13: 9780394484143
Publisher: Random House
Place of Publication: New York
Date Published: August 1974
Pages: 245

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Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

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...
Rubbing: Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
Number Line: A series of numbers appearing on the copyright page of a book, where the lowest number generally indicates the printing of that...
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....