Click for full-size.
High Sierra
by Burnett, W. R
- Used
- Acceptable
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Acceptable
- Seller
-
Seattle, Washington, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
A. A. Knopf, 1940. First Edition. Hardcover. Acceptable. Missing dust jacket; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket missing. First edition. Cover and binding are worn but intact. A reading copy in fair condition. Wear and stain on the boards. Cracks along the binding of the back board and spine both internally and externally. 292 pages. Minor stain on the edges. Text is clear of markings and notations. Secure packaging for safe delivery.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Synopsis
The tormented and exhausted man at the center of W.R. Burnett's High Sierra is a notorious criminal whom the newspapers call "Mad Dog" Roy Earle. Earle is every bit the criminal the newspapers depict, but he is a complicated soul who is the tragic hero of the novel -- a horribly flawed man, a violent criminal who still retains a bit of a conscience but never gets a decent break.As in most of Burnett's novels, High Sierra ostensibly describes a carefully plotted crime that is undermined by human nature. More interesting and important, perhaps, is its study of Roy Earle, who hardly seems the "Mad Dog" he is made out to be in the press. Pardoned from prison, he idealizes his childhood as he wearily makes his way across the California desert to meet up with two hoods named Red and Babe. Earle is dismayed to find they have with them a tough and brazen woman named Marie, though he begins to warm to her crude charm. He has been moved by the plight of a physically impaired woman he meets, Velma Goodhue, and he resolves to help her -- imagining, somehow, that she will be his. After a holdup he plans with Red, Babe and Marie (who has now fallen in love with him), Earle takes money to Velma for an operation to repair her clubfoot. But the holdup has disastrous results. Red and Babe are killed, and Roy goes on the lam with Marie. They have nowhere to turn and even Velma deserts him. Earle sends Marie away, to meet him eventually in a mountain pass in the High Sierras -- a rendezvous high in the sky that will not take place as planned.Much happens plotwise in High Sierra but it is Roy Earle who holds our interest. As remorseless as the book is -- the concluding chapter consists a few lacerating paragraphs of post-mortem chitchat from the police -- it makes Earle a rich and deeply compelling man, without sentimentalizing him at all. Reading High Sierra is close to the experience of reading James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, a tough, bleak and unforgiving narrative that works a dark and elusive magic.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- ThriftBooks
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 837957966
- Title
- High Sierra
- Author
- Burnett, W. R
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Acceptable
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Publisher
- A. A. Knopf
- Date Published
- 1940
Terms of Sale
ThriftBooks
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio member since 2018
Seattle, Washington
About ThriftBooks
From the largest selection of used titles, we put quality, affordable books into the hands of readers
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Reading Copy
- Indicates a book that is perfectly serviceable for reading. It may have a defect or damage. As such, reading copy is not a...
- Fair
- is a worn book that has complete text pages (including those with maps or plates) but may lack endpapers, half-title, etc....
- 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....
- 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...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Acceptable
- A non-traditional book condition description that generally refers to a book in readable condition, although no standard exists...
Frequently asked questions
Collecting Classic Supernatural Fiction
Classic supernatural fiction is distinct from contemporary horror because it is more literate and often relies upon poetic subtlety rather than unpleasant gratuity to create an atmosphere. Enter if you dare!
Signed Books
Why settle for an ordinary copy of your favorite book when you could have an autographed copy? Find signed books here.
