Willard and His Bowling Trophies

New York, NY: Simon & Schuster: Touchstone. Very Good. 1975. First Edition Thus; First Printing. Paperback. First Edition Thus (1975) , not directly stated, but First Printing indicated by a complete numerical sequence, in accordance with Simon & Schuster's customary practice at the time of publication. Very Good in Wraps: shows sparse, faint rubbing and consequent soiling to the white background field of the rear panel and mild wear to the extremities; a single crease to the backstrip, some glue bleed apparent near the heel, which also show a tiny bit of chipping to the exterior paper over card; a former bookseller has neatly blocked out the price at the lower corner of the front panel; a name or such has been blocked out with marker pen at the upper corner of the front endpaper; the text pages have tanned slightly, due to aging; the binding leans ever so slightly but remains quite secure; the text is clean. Free of any creases to the panels. Free of any creased or dog-eared pages in the text. Free of any underlining, hi-lighting, marginalia or marks in the text. Free of ownership names, dates, addresses, notations, inscriptions, stamps, or labels. A carefully-used copy, structurally sound and tightly bound, showing very little wear, but possessing some cosmetic flaws. Bright and clean. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. 8vo. (8 x 5.35 x 0.55 inches) . Language: English. Weight: 8 ounces. Trade Paperback. "If he taught his worries to sing, they would have made the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sound like a potato". Richard Brautigan was first and foremost a poet. Arising out of the "beat generation" in and around San Francisco, Brautigan was in the right place at the right time to release his deceptively simple poetry. His observations and his clever wordplay made books like The Pill Versus the Springhill Mine Disaster...Selected Poems 1957-1968 mandatory reading by the counter culture. Richard Brautigan (1935 –1984) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been published both in the United States and internationally. He is perhaps best known for his novels 'Trout Fishing in America (1967) , In Watermelon Sugar (1968) , and The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 (1971). Brautigan began his career as a poet, with his first collection being published in 1957. He made his debut as a novelist with 'A Confederate General from Big Sur' (1964) , about a seemingly delusional man who believes himself to be the descendant of a Confederate general from of all places - Big Sur, California. Brautigan would go on to publish numerous prose and poetry collections until 1982. Most of his readers have started with 'Trout Fishing in America: A Novel', but it was his oddball books that apperaled to me the most, like 'Dreaming of Babylon: A Private Eye Novel 1942 or 'Sombrero Fallout: A Japanese Novel' was something of a companion piece to 'Babylon'. In both books, it is not about the story, it is about the journey and the style with and in which one makes it. In fact, on page two, the "story" is yanked from Brautigan's typewriter and thrown into the trash. Even Brautigan is not interested in the sombrero that falls out of the sky. The heart of this book is a poet's attempt to put into words something that is wordless; a loss. Specifically, that book, the loss of a beautiful Japanese woman who sleeps across town, while the author tries to explain why she left and how he feels about it. It's quirky, off-center, pure genius. 'Willard' one of these quirky, off-beat ones. In it, Brautigan displays some postmodern sensibilities in which he plays with non-linear narrative and literary devices that were fairly new at the time - mid 1970s - and make for a enjoyable reading experience. At once heartbreaking and humorous, and always humane, 'Willard' seemed something of a turning point in Brautigan’s work. Brautigan is comparable in his approach - but never achieved the fame and success - of Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Both were by turns absurdist, humanist, misanthropic, and satiric, although Vonnegut did flesh out characters differently and tended toward larger themes whereas Brautigan's gaze is focused more on individual people and their humanity. Willard is an insightful look into a world - written in way that seems light - if not lighthearted. 'Willard' may linger with you longer than you might at first suspect. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 167 pages .