SIGHTSEEING: STORIES

New York City, NY: Grove Press, 2005. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Grove Press, 2005. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 250 pages. Retrospective collection of short stories. One of the most important literary debuts of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly the Softcover Edition. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Rattawut Lapcharoensap's "Sightseeing: Stories". His (ironically titled) debut collection. The eponymous story is the longest - and the best - piece ("Cockfighter", the final set piece, is really a novella) : About a mother's brave, stoic journey towards imminent blindness, told, heartbreakingly, from her loving son's point-of-view. It's impeccable, a tour-de-force masterpiece, the writer at the absolute peak of his powers. "Generous, radiant tales of family bonds, youthful romance, generational conflicts, and cultural shiftings beneath the glossy surface of a warm, Edenic setting. Written with exceptional acuity, grace, and sophistication, the stories present a nation far removed from its exoticized stereotypes. Through his vivid assemblage of parents and children, natives and transients, ardent lovers and sworn enemies, Lapcharoensap dares us to look with new eyes at the circumstances that shape our views and the prejudices that form our blind spots" (Publisher's blurb). Rattawut is misleadingly described as a Thai-American, which suggests he is an immigrant, when in fact he was born in America, which makes him an American (of Thai ethnicity). In that sense, he is really writing about America (as in "Farangs", for example) as much as Thailand. Tourists often fall in love with a foreign land and call it home just as it is entirely possible to be an alienated outsider in one's own homeland. An absolute "must-have" title for Rattawut Lapcharoensap collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Rattawut Lapcharoensap. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a great collection. It deserves to be read by every serious reader of contemporary literature. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. . ISBN 0802117880.