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Kis, Danilo : Hourglass

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1960

DJ in archival cover. Stated first edition., Fine

1st Edition

Kis, Danilo (Translated by Ralph Manheim) : Hourglass

Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York City, NY, 1990

ISBN 0374172870

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 274 pages. The author's third novel. One of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Review Copy. Review Materials laid-in. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. 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. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Danilo Kis' "Hourglass" in a felicitous English translation. Widely considered to be his greatest novel. "Describes the external and internal worlds of a railway clerk called ES whose quotidian concerns include antagonism toward his well-to-do sister Netty, quarrels with her son George about a piece of jointly owned property, and futile, indignant inquiries to the authorities about why his pension has been reduced. But Kis uses this life of a victim as a counterpoint to his second storyline, which matter-of-factly reveals an exploding, horrific world in which Jews are murdered in countless mundane or outlandish ways, commit suicide, or simply disappear while the general population goes mad" (Publisher's blurb). The novel is an homage to an earlier masterpiece, Bruno Schulz's "Sanatorium Under The Sign of The Hourglass" (first published in English in 1978). Schulz was a murder victim of the most arbitrary kind, shot in the street by a Nazi officer who wanted to kill someone else (but could not) because he was a fellow Nazi officer. But the latter happened to admire and collect Schulz's drawings and so became his protector. In this "life-versus-death" game of one-upmanship, there was no possible way Schulz's Nazi protector could up the ante. Despite his talents, Schulz was just another Jew after all, inferior to him and all other Nazis. Kis' fictional re-creation of Schulz's pathetic life is one of the most sublime and moving gestures, artistically and morally, by one great writer to another very great writer. An absolute "must-have" title for Danilo Kis collectors. This is a Review Copy. The Review Materials are laid-in. This title is a great book. As far as we know, this is the only Review Copy of the First American Edition/First Printing 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 copy thus. "Hourglass" is regarded by Joseph Brodsky and Susan Sontag as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER DANILO KIS TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374172870.

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