THE LITTLE FRIEND
by Donna Tartt
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0679439382
- ISBN 13
- 9780679439387
- Seller
-
Tomball, Texas, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Stated First Edition; A Fine book in a Fine dust jacket with only light shelf wear to the spine ends. A handsome copy of this author's 2nd novel, critically acclaimed and getting scarce in collectible condition. Not remaindered, not price clipped, and not ex-library; protected in a mylar cover.
"In a small Mississippi town, Harriet Cleve Dufresnes grows up in the shadow of her brother, who - when she was only a baby - was found hanging dead from a black-tupelo tree in their yard. His killer was never identified, nor has his family, in the years since, recovered from the tragedy.".
"In a small Mississippi town, Harriet Cleve Dufresnes grows up in the shadow of her brother, who - when she was only a baby - was found hanging dead from a black-tupelo tree in their yard. His killer was never identified, nor has his family, in the years since, recovered from the tragedy.".
Synopsis
The Little Friend is a 1929 novel by Scottish writer Bruce Marshall.
Reviews
On Jul 9 2017, a reader said:
"It was the last picture they had of him. Out of focus. Flat expanse of green cut at a slight diagonal, with a white rail and the heaving gloss of a gardenia bush sharp in the foreground at the edge of the porch. Murky, storm-damp sky, shifting liquescence of indigo and slate, boiling clouds rayed with spokes of light. In the corner of the frame a blurred shadow of Robin, his back to the viewer, ran out across the hazy lawn to meet his death, which stood waiting for him – almost visible – in the dark place beneath the tupelo tree"
The Little Friend is the second novel by American author, Donna Tartt. Harriet Cleve Dufresnes is twelve. Her best friend, (Duncan) Hely Hull is eleven. It is the summer of 1976, Alexandria, Mississippi, and they have managed to avoid being sent to camp. Having exhausted their usual activities, Harriet becomes interested in the murder of her brother Robin, who at age nine was found hanging from the black tupelo tree on Mother's Day, twelve years earlier. It's something nobody talks about.
Tartt expertly captures feel of a never-ending Mississippi summer during vacation time. Her portrayal of twelve-year old Harriet beautifully illustrates the naivete and the single-minded self-absorption of youth which, coupled with the allure of a taboo topic, facilitates a fixation borne of an absolute conviction based on hearsay. Tartt brings together in one tale the genteel class who still have black servants and the residents of the seedier side of town, the poor "White Trash". The poverty mindset is well depicted, as is that of the more fortunate classes:
"She possessed, to a singular and uncomfortable degree, the narrowness of vision which enabled all the Cleves to forget what they didn't want to remember, and to exaggerate or otherwise alter what they couldn't forget; and in restringing the skeleton of the extinct monstrosity which had been her family's fortune, she was unaware that some of the bones had been tampered with; that others belonged to different animals entirely; that a great many of the more massive and spectacular bones were not bones at all, but plaster-of-paris forgeries"
At over five hundred pages, this is no fast-paced murder mystery, but rather, a slow burn Southern drama, in which the tension builds to an exciting climax. This novel is filled with some deliciously black humour and a good dose of irony as characters navigate their war through meth labs and drug-fuelled paranoia, snakes and preachers, summer camp and funeral parlours, trailers and decaying elegance, grief and guilt.
Tartt treats the reader to some marvellous descriptive prose: "The view had captivated her: washing fluttering on lines, peaked roofs like a field of origami arks, roofs red and green and black and silver, roofs of shingle and copper and tar and tin, spread out below them in the airy, dreamy distance. It was like seeing into another country. The vista had a whimsical, toy quality which reminded her of pictures she'd seen of the Orient - of China, of Japan" and "This isn't real, he told himself, not real, no it's just a dream, and indeed, for many years to come – well into adulthood – his dreams would drop him back sharply into this malodorous dark, among the hissing treasure-chests of nightmare" are examples. A brilliant read.
On Feb 13 2015, a reader said:
Now that I have completed all three of Tartt's books, it's going to be difficult waiting another ten years for her to publish another one.
"The Little Friend" was very enjoyable to me. Having lived in Mississippi for quite a while myself, I could literally FEEL and completely understand every bit of the atmosphere that Tartt was expressing and she does it to a frightening perfection. The people, the weather, the way of life, the sounds... they all radiate right out of the pages.
I adored Harriet. I could relate to Harriet; her curious, serious nature despite being so young. The childhood nostalgia of this book was welcoming as well, even in the most frightening moments when the evil adult world clashes with the innocence of youth. Tartt did a remarkable job portraying the feel of the transition from innocent childhood into awkward adolescence-- not realizing it's happening until it's too late and you're looking back at a sealed door.
There's mystery, sadness, wonder and terror laced through-out the entire novel. I could feel it in my bones.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1582
- Title
- THE LITTLE FRIEND
- Author
- Donna Tartt
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0679439382
- ISBN 13
- 9780679439387
- Publisher
- Knopf
- Place of Publication
- New York
- Date Published
- 2002
- Keywords
- First Edition, Hardcover
- Bookseller catalogs
- Modern First Editions;
Terms of Sale
Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA
Bryan H. Young D.V.M.dba Grayshelf Books, 19111 Desert Eagle Dr., Tomball, Tx 77377Email - bhydvm@gmail.comWe accept payment by Paypal, Visa, Mastercard, checks, or money orders.Texas residents please add 8% sales tax.We guarantee all books to be as described.Additional scans of books will be provided upon request.
30 day full money back guarantee to include shipping costs if an item arrives damaged or not as described in listing.
About the Seller
Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA
Biblio member since 2018
Tomball, Texas
About Grayshelf Books, ABAA, IOBA
Grayshelf Books is an online collectors library originating out of the love of collecting rare books. We specialize, but are not limited to, modern first editions from the 20th and 21st century. We also maintain inventory of rare works in the Science Fiction and Horror genres. We guarantee all of our books in regards to condition stated on the listings and all books are protected in mylar covers and shipped with the utmost care in sturdy boxes. Thanks for viewing our listings!
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...
- Price Clipped
- When a book is described as price-clipped, it indicates that the portion of the dust jacket flap that has the publisher's...
- Shelf Wear
- Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...
- 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....
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...