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The 158-Pound Marriage
by Irving, John
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine /Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Seller
-
Arlington Hts, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
New York: Random House. Clean and unmarked. . Near Fine. Hardcover. First Edition (stated). 1974.
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
- Plain Tales Books
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 025549
- Title
- The 158-Pound Marriage
- Author
- Irving, John
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition (stated)
- ISBN 10
- 0394484142
- ISBN 13
- 9780394484143
- Publisher
- Random House
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 1974
- Pages
- 245
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall.
Terms of Sale
Plain Tales Books
Check, money order or credit card (via Biblio or PayPal. Returns accepted with prior notification within ten days of receipt if not as described
About the Seller
Plain Tales Books
Biblio member since 2005
Arlington Hts, Illinois
About Plain Tales Books
Plain Tales Books was started in 1984. General used stock with areas of interest in the book arts, typography, printing, architecture, Easton Press, Franklin Library, Folio Society. Owner: Tom Zimmerman
Glossary
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...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
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