Insomnia
by Stephen King
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very good/near fine
- ISBN 10
- 0670855030
- ISBN 13
- 9780670855032
- Seller
-
Gridley, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Viking Press, 1994. Book Club Edition. 1/4 cloth. Very good/near fine. A very good Book club edition, first printing in a very near fine dust jacket. Grey paper boards over white quarter cloth spine. SK in red foil on cover, title in red foil on spine. White endpapers. First published by Viking Press and complete number line 1-10. Dust stains to top edge and fore edge. This massive book has been carefully read. Dust jacket shows no price and numbers 1094 on innner front panel. Dust jacket now protected in a clear, removable, archival cover.787 pp. Octavo, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches tall. A small town in Maine again serves as King's (Nightmares and Dreamscapes, 1993, etc.) setting in this deft, steady tale, in which two lovable geezers travel through hyper-reality to balance the books of human existence, or something to that effect. Since his wife's recent death, Ralph Roberts, age 70, has been beset by insomnia and hallucinations. These hallucinations appear as auras, terminating in fine lines of light resembling balloon strings. In these strings, Ralph believes he can see other people's states of mind and being (e.g., disease, anger, calm). Ah, but 68-year-old gal pal Lois Chasse shares these visions, which by now include three little bald entities in doctors' smocks. These three, naturally, are not really of this earth. They are brokers for what we mortals call death. The first two, whom Ralph and Lois name Clotho and Lachesis from a Greek myth about three yam-spinning sisters are benevolent and serve "The Purpose," or natural, timely demise. The third, a malevolent sprite named Atropos, represents "The Random" and takes great pleasure in prematurely cutting folks' balloon strings with his rusty scalpel. Atropos takes advantage of a pro-life rally currently polarizing the hamlet and enlists a local crazy to help him make a literal killing in the afterlife futures market. In the climax, our oldsters serve as earthly agents to thwart a potentially calamitous disruption in the order of the universe. King throws in a tender romance, sensitive and often funny portrayals of the ravages of age, and the somewhat loopy presence of Rite-Aid drugstores, Cup-A-Soup, and Port-O-Sans smack-dab in the middle of hyper-reality. This commingling of the supernatural and the commonplace is what makes this hefty read so enjoyable. Still, at 800 pages, it ain't no coffee-table book it's a coffee table." --- Kirkus
Synopsis
Nightmares come to life for Ralph Roberts. Up all night, he's seeing some pretty strange things. No wonder he can't get back to sleep. Readers won't be able to either.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Uncommon Works (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1107
- Title
- Insomnia
- Author
- Stephen King
- Format/Binding
- 1/4 cloth
- Book Condition
- Used - Very good
- Jacket Condition
- near fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- Book Club Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0670855030
- ISBN 13
- 9780670855032
- Publisher
- Viking Press
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1994
- Keywords
- horror, king
- Bookseller catalogs
- Bestseller Firsts;
Terms of Sale
Uncommon Works
90 day return guarantee, for up to 90 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged. The authenticity of signatures guaranteed.
Please note: Large, heavy and multi-volume sets billed at actual postage.
About the Seller
Uncommon Works
Biblio member since 2014
Gridley, California
About Uncommon Works
Not your ordinary book store! Uncommon Works specializes in rare, odd, unique, and handmade books, with a focus on the Maya, Latin America, Native America, and the Spanish Conquest. You'll find rare, first editions and first or early printings. You'll even find a few first printings of living authors for sale. We provide services and referrals for book mending, repair, restoration, and binding.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Fore Edge
- The portion of a book that is opposite the spine. That part of a book which faces the wall when shelved in a traditional...
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
- 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....
- Book Club Edition
- A generic term denoting a book which was produced or distributed by one of any number of book club organizations. Usually the...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
This Book’s Categories
- Fiction & Literature Individual Authors Stephen King
- Fiction & Literature Mystery & Thrillers Thrillers
- Fiction & Literature Mystery & Thrillers Mystery
- Fiction & Literature Science Fiction & Fantasy Science Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Science Fiction & Fantasy Fantasy
- Fiction & Literature Horror & Supernatural Fiction