Singer, Isaac Bashevis

The Death of Methuselah and Other Stories

ISBN: 0374135630
New York, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1988. First Trade Edition. Hardcover. "Isaac Bashevis Singer portrays Methuselah at the age of 969- "and when you pass your nine hundredth birthday, you are not what you used to be." This fable of Noah's grandfather, longing for death at the very moment when the Deluge is about to be unleashed, represents the Nobel Prize author at his best. "The Death of Methuselah" is the title story of his new collection, the tenth in the fabulous series ranging from Gimpel the Fool (1957) to The Image (1985)." (from front flap) The final collection of stories published during the lifetime of Isaac Bashevis Singer (1903-1991), the great & prolific award-winning Jewish-American writer whose works are now enshrined in the canon of the Library of America. Translated from the Yiddish into English by Singer himself &/or various translators, as were all his story collections, memoirs & novels. With twenty stories including the title piece, written during 1971-1988, some of which were originally published in various magazines from The New Yorker to Playboy. Preceded by Author's Note. Hardcover in unclipped dust jacket, first edition, "First trade printing, 1988" as stated on copyright page, published simultaneously with a limited signed edition. An entertaining, thought-provoking collectible classic in the oeuvre of the inimitable Isaac Bashevis Singer. Book in fine condition with just a hint of wear to front, back covers & spine; sparse spot-staining to side & lower edges of text block; moderate spot-staining to upper edge of same. Interior fine with one hand-written marginalia note in very small cursive ink at blank rear paste-down; occasional light spotting to same & blank rear endpaper; tiny spot-stains at/ near mostly upper corners of a few page leaves (bled from text block spot-staining noted above). Dust jacket fine with mild rubbing, browning, scratching, occasional spotting & creasing to front, back covers, spine & flaps; minor wear & some tiny bumps, creases at thin edges & corners of same; one angled crease through upper edge, corner & side edge of rear flap through appx. 1/3 of its length. Fine / Fine. [Item #4515]

Price: $50.00