FRIEND OF MY YOUTH: STORIES OF ALICE MUNRO

New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. First Edition. First Printing.. Softcover. Fine/No Dust Jacket, As Issued.. New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990. Softcover. Fine/None, As Issued. First Edition/First Printing. 278 pages. Landmark collection of short stories. Advance Reader's Edition/Limited Edition. The first appearance of the title in any published form. Precedes and should not be confused with both the Canadian and American regular trade editions. Published in a small and limited print run as a softcover original only whose limitation is not specified. None of the copies was commercially sold to the public. The ARC is now rare. An austerely elegant production by Alfred A. Knopf: Regular-sized volume format. Cream softcovers with maroon titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Short stories by Alice Munro. Maroon cardboard slipcase. Printed on pristine-white, archival stock paper in the United States to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents, in its Limited Edition format, Alice Munro's "Friend of My Youth: Stories". Her seventh collection. Aside from the great, eponymous piece, the volume also includes her tough-minded and still-controversial "Five Points", about the fluidity of power relations involving sex. Munro brilliantly - and in an original way - depicts how women, attractive or otherwise, use money to gain sexual favor and power over men while men use their good looks and sexual prowess to re-assert their power over women, in a radical inversion of the patriarchal stereotype. A masterpiece, it will come as a jolt to Munro readers accustomed to her more gentle humane-ness. Alice Munro is regarded by critics and loyal readers alike as the greatest writer of the short story in English of our time. "A stunningly precise writer who is often able to say more in 30 pages than an ordinary novelist is capable of in 300. Her intelligence, compassion, and astonishing power of perception enable her to give their lives a remarkable dignity, indeed redemption, since she shows how much of The Extraordinary can fit into that jam-packed emptiness called The Ordinary" (Nobel Prize Citation). "Our Chekhov" (Cynthia Ozick). An absolute "must-have" title for Alice Munro collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in blue ink-pen on the publisher's tipped-in page by Alice Munro. This title is a great book. This is one of few copies of the Advance Reader's Edition/Limited Edition still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Precedes and should NOT be confused with both the Canadian and American regular trade editions. Alice Munro's publisher has issued several special editions such as this of her books because throughout her long career, Munro made few public appearances, and is a reluctant signer at best. As such, most of her books are signed on a bookplate, which are much less desirable than copies signed on either the title page or tipped-in page. A rare signed copy thus. Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2013. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ALICE MUNRO TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0394584422.