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Taylor, Benjamin : Tales Out Of School

Turtle Point Press, New York City, NY, 1995

ISBN 1885983042

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 283 pages. The author's breakthrough debut novel. One of the most important literary debuts of our time. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a small, independent press. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Benjamin Taylor's "Tales Out of School". An ambitious historical drama and a coming-of-age narrative at the same time, an epic (succinctly told in a mere 283 pages) compared to Andre Aciman's lyric, "Call Me By Your Name" (2007). "Affectingly introduces members of a genteel, wealthy German-Jewish family living in early 20th-century Galveston, Texas. Felix, scholarly and loyal, works his way through 'The Aeneid' and adolescent stirrings of desire, which he acts upon with Wick Frawley, once a bully, now a friend. Taylor's spare, supple prose easily accommodates effective forays into Magical Realism as well as nuanced evocations of the desire, religious doubt, and affection that animate his memorable characters. It is a measure of his skill that even those met briefly in this bewitching novel continue to resonate in the reader's imagination" (Publishers Weekly). Benjamin Taylor is well-known as a scholar, literary critic, editor, and essayist, which multi-faceted achievement may have (negatively) affected his reception as a novelist. As a "nonfiction" writer so-called, he is a major figure: "Into The Open: Reflections On Genius And Modernity" (1995) and "Proust: The Search" (2015), among others, are regarded as masterpieces. But as a serious novelist, he is unjustly underrated, a so-called "writer's writer" with an esoteric following, admired by Philip Roth. An absolute "must-have" title for Benjamin Taylor collectors. This copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the half-title page by Benjamin Taylor. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. Laid-in is a pristine copy of the Souvenir Material of the event during which his signature was obtained. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER BENJAMIN TAYLOR TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1885983042.

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