Strike the Father Dead
by John Wain
- Used
- first
- Condition
- Used. Excellent condition.
- Seller
-
San Francisco, California, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Macmillan & Co Ltd, 1962. Used. Excellent condition.. Hardcover.
Dust Jacket.
346 pp.
First Edition.
'A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of genial sound and fury.' - Peter Quennell, Daily Express
'I liked it as I have liked all his novels . . . solid . . . full of meat, thoroughly thought-provoking.' - Julian Mitchell, The Spectator 'Mr. Wain's best and most ambitious novel to date.' - Birmingham Post
'The endless round of duties and responsibilities that had been palmed off on me as a life - it wasn't a life, it was a fraud, and I knew it.' So says teenager Jeremy Coleman, whose father, an austere classics professor, disapproves of the boy's preference for playing jazz music instead of learning Greek grammar. After a final falling-out with his father, Jeremy runs away from home, disappearing into the dives of wartime London, where he plays jazz for a living in seedy nightclubs while evading conscription. He soon encounters the other denizens of this strange twilight world of draft-dodgers and itinerant musicians, and his life changes forever when he meets a talented black jazzman from Baltimore, trombonist Percy Brett. They form a band, and their success in London and Paris leads to a big offer from an American recording executive. But on the eve of their greatest triumph, Jeremy and Percy become the targets of a vicious racial attack, a brutal assault that may have unexpected consequences for their musical future, and for Jeremy's relationship with his estranged father . . .
John Wain's lifelong passion for jazz music permeates his classic fifth novel, Strike the Father Dead (1962), which won critical acclaim and showed a very different side to the author, whose Hurry on Down (1953) had been a smash success. This edition features a new introduction by Alice Ferrebe and a reproduction of the original jacket art by Victor Reinganum.
Dust Jacket.
346 pp.
First Edition.
'A convincing tale, told with a tremendous gusto, full of genial sound and fury.' - Peter Quennell, Daily Express
'I liked it as I have liked all his novels . . . solid . . . full of meat, thoroughly thought-provoking.' - Julian Mitchell, The Spectator 'Mr. Wain's best and most ambitious novel to date.' - Birmingham Post
'The endless round of duties and responsibilities that had been palmed off on me as a life - it wasn't a life, it was a fraud, and I knew it.' So says teenager Jeremy Coleman, whose father, an austere classics professor, disapproves of the boy's preference for playing jazz music instead of learning Greek grammar. After a final falling-out with his father, Jeremy runs away from home, disappearing into the dives of wartime London, where he plays jazz for a living in seedy nightclubs while evading conscription. He soon encounters the other denizens of this strange twilight world of draft-dodgers and itinerant musicians, and his life changes forever when he meets a talented black jazzman from Baltimore, trombonist Percy Brett. They form a band, and their success in London and Paris leads to a big offer from an American recording executive. But on the eve of their greatest triumph, Jeremy and Percy become the targets of a vicious racial attack, a brutal assault that may have unexpected consequences for their musical future, and for Jeremy's relationship with his estranged father . . .
John Wain's lifelong passion for jazz music permeates his classic fifth novel, Strike the Father Dead (1962), which won critical acclaim and showed a very different side to the author, whose Hurry on Down (1953) had been a smash success. This edition features a new introduction by Alice Ferrebe and a reproduction of the original jacket art by Victor Reinganum.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Globus Books (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 3327
- Title
- Strike the Father Dead
- Author
- John Wain
- Book Condition
- Used. Excellent condition.
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Macmillan & Co Ltd
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1962
- Keywords
- John, Wain
Terms of Sale
Globus Books
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
Globus Books
Biblio member since 2021
San Francisco, California
About Globus Books
Globus Books, an independent bookstore serving San Francisco since 1971, offers a wide-ranging and always changing stock of books on all things Russia.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- 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...