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Robert Olmstead – River Dogs (1987)

Bibliographical Description

87.03.W031: Olmstead – River Dogs

River Dogs | STORIES | ROBERT OLMSTEAD | Vintage Contemporaries | VINTAGE BOOKS • A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE • NEW YORK

128 leaves, pp. [10] 1–2 3-13 14 15-21 22 23-35 36 37-45 46 47-59 60 61-71 72 73-109 110 111-240 [6]

A Vintage Contemporaries Original, March 1987, First Edition

Contents: π1a author photo with excerpt, π1b blank, π2a half-title, π2b blank, π3a title, π3b imprint, π4a dedication, π4b blank, π5a contents, π5b blank, 1 fly-title, 2 blank, 3-240 River Dogs: 3-13 ‘River Dogs’, 14 blank, 15-21 ‘A Good Cow’, 22 blank, 23-35 ‘A Place to Stay’, 36 blank , 37-45 ‘What To Do First’, 46 blank, 47-59 ‘Cody’s Story’, 60 blank, 61-71 ‘Onions’, 72 blank, 73-109 ‘The Mason’, 110 blank, 111-122 ‘A Pair of Bulls’, 123-171 ‘Bruno and Rachel’, 172 blank, 173-188 ‘The Boon’, 189-232 ‘In This Life’, 233-240 ‘How to Bury a Dog’; χ1a about the author, χ1b blank, χ2a Vintage Contemporaries order form, χ2b Vintage Contemporaries list, χ3a blank, χ3b blank.

Cover design by Lorraine Louie; cover illustration by Rick Lovell; interior author photo by David Tobin.

Copies: JDP 1.1

Blurbs

(front cover) An original…Olmstead writes like a man who won’t speak til he’s got something to say. – Jay McInerney
In River Dogs and eleven other stories, Robert Olmstead transports readers into the raw, uncompromising, often bitterly funny landscape of rural New Hampshire. With relentless power and an ever-sensitive eye and ear for eerily realistic detail, Olmstead spins tales of country living proud and fallow. Wily dairymen, onion planters, small-time hunters, and drifting hustlers populate River Dogs—characters deflecting pain and rich in humanity.
Robert Olmstead is a nation unto himself, or at least a province in revolt; an original in the American grain, shrewd, funny, interested in convention only for what he can get out of it….From the world of his work—muscular, male, generally unremunerative work—he has fashioned a fresh and vital language. – Tobias Wolff
Hilarious, sad, gritty, true-to-life and original. – Howard Frank Mosher
A stunning debut…these are terrific stories by a terrific writer. – Ernest Hebert
In reading Olmstead, we may hear the echo of ancient tales traded in the flicker of firelight…the gnarly wisdom of generations of New Englanders finds expression in these remarkable stories. – Jay McInerney

Harold Brodkey – First Love & Other Sorrows (1986)

Bibliographic Description

86.03.W018: Brodkey – First Love and Other Sorrows

First Vintage Books Edition, March 1986

112 leaves, pp. 3–12 13-31 32–34 35-84 85–86 87-114 115–116 117-156 157–158 159-166 167–168 169-177 178–180 181-192 193–194 195-207 208–210 211-223 [3] [The first page with pagination marked on it is page 13; however, the table of contents indicates that the first story, “State of Grace”, begins on page 11. The page numbers listed on the table of contents point to the section title for each story, pages that are unnumbered with a blank unnumbered page on the verso before the story proper begins. Thus, we should expect 10 pages / 5 leaves to precede this page 11, when there are in fact only 8 pages / 4 leaves. There are 2 pages missing from the expected 10 at some point in the sequence; to preserve an unbroken pagination sequence, I have treated pages “1” and “2” as missing]

Contents: 3 blurbs and author photo, 4 blank, 5 title, 6 imprint, 7 dedication, 8 blank, 9 contents, 10 blank, 11-223 First Love and Other Sorrows: 11-31 “THE STATE | OF GRACE”, 32 blank, 33-84 “FIRST LOVE | AND OTHER | SORROWS”, 85-114 “THE QUARREL”, 115-156 “SENTIMENTAL | EDUCATION”, 157-166 “LAURIE DRESSING”, 167-177 “LAURA”, 178 blank, 179-192 “TRIO FOR THREE | GENTLE VOICES”, 193-207 “PIPING DOWN | THE VALLEYS WILD”, 208 blank, 209-223 “THE DARK | WOMAN OF | THE SONNETS”; χ1b about the author, χ2a Vintage Contemporaries order form, χ2b Vintage Contemporaries list.

Cover design by Lorraine Louie; cover illustration by Rick Lovell; interior author photo by Jerry Bauer.

Copies: JDP 1.2

Blurbs

(front cover) For some years now, Harold Brodkey has been making one of the great brave journeys of American literature. – Don DeLillo
Since 1958, when this book of stories was first published, Harold Brodkey has been at work on a long novel known as Party of Animals. In 1985, in Vanity Fair, the critic Denis Donoghue wrote, “The published fragments of his otherwise incomplete novel have convinced me that it’s a work of genius.” As The New Republic recently commented, “It is fair to say that for many years now Brodkey’s considerable presence on the literary landscape has been the product of his considerable absence….But his literature matters a great deal, for literature it certainly is. / For those who have read excerpts from Brodkey’s work-in-progress in The New Yorker and Esquire, and for those who are new to his fiction, the reissue of First Love and Other Sorrows (long out of print) makes available “an unusually gifted writer with an attractive freshness of perception, a fine command of language, and an individual vein of humor,” as The Atlantic’s review stated over twenty-five years ago. Here, then, is the world of the educated upper middle class, at leisure and in love.
A volume marked with quiet immediacy. Some of the stories, indeed, almost have the effect of murmured confidences, highly personal yet carefully contrived. – The Chicago Tribune
A clever, eager, perceptive series of sketches underlining the various manners of youthful American love….Brodkey writes with an engaging sympathy which one has no wish at all to resist. – The New Statesman

Barry Hannah – Airships (1985)

Bibliographic Description

85.11.W016: Hannah – Airships

First Vintage Books Edition, November 1985

112 leaves, pp. [2] i-ix x 1-3 4-7 8-9 10-15 16-17 18-44 45 46-48 49 50-60 61 62-65 66-67 68-96 97 98-104 105 106-118 119 120-128 129 130-138 139 140-142 143 144-148 149 150-151 152-153 154-159 160-161 162 163 164-168 169 170-175 176-177 178-181 182-183 184-209 [3]

Contents: π1a blurbs and author photo, π1b blank, i half-title, ii blank, iii title, iv imprint, v dedication, vi blank, vii acknowledgments, viii blank, ix-x contents, 1-209 Airships: 1 fly-title, 2 blank, 3-7 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ ★ Water Liars ★ ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 8 blank, 9-15 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ Love Too Long ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 16 blank, 17-44 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ Testimony of Pilot ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 45-48 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ Coming Close ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ to Donna ★ ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 49-60 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ Dragged Fighting ★ | ★ ★ from His Tomb ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 61-65 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ Quo Vadis, Smut? ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 66 blank, 67-96 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ Return to Return ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 97-104 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ Green Gets It ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 105-118 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ Midnight and I’m ★ | ★ ★ Not Famous Yet ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 119-128 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ Our Secret Home ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 129-138 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ ★ Eating Wife ★ ★ ★ | ★ ★ ★ and Friends ★ ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 139-142 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ ★ All the Old ★ ★ ★ | ★ Harkening Faces ★ | ★ ★ ★ at the Rail ★ ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 143-148 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ Knowing He Was ★ | ★ ★ Not My Kind ★ ★ | ★ ★ Yet I Followed ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 149-151 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ ★ That’s True ★ ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 152 blank, 153-159 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ Escape to Newark ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 160 blank, 161-162 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | Pete Resists the Man | ★ of His Old Room ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 163-168 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | Behold the Husband | in His Perfect Agony | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 169-175 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ Constant Pain ★ ★ | ★ ★ in Tuscaloosa ★ ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”, 176 blank, 177-181 “[ornamental rule 1.2 x 10 cm] | ★ Deaf and Dumb ★ | [ornamental rule 1.35 x 10 cm]”, 182 blank, 183-209 “[ornamental rule 1.1 x 10 cm] | ★ ★ Mother Rooney ★ ★ | ★ Unscrolls the Hurt ★ | [ornamental rule 1.3 x 10 cm]”; χ1b about the author, χ2a Vintage Contemporaries order form, χ2b Vintage Contemporaries list.

Cover design by Lorraine Louie; cover illustration by Rick Lovell; interior author photo by Karen Newsom.

Copies: JDP 1.3

Blurbs

(front cover) A sensational new American comic writer. – The New York Times Book Review
Strong, original, tragic and funny in the same voice—a writer of violent honesty and power in the creative Southern tradition. – Alfred Kazan
These stories are wonderful in the ways Mark Twain, Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor are wonderful when they are working the great vein of fierce and pitiless Southern comedy. The war stories in particular—joining, as they do for me, the clownish misery and colossal overkill of Vietnam to the American Civil War—are masterpieces of their kind. Hannah is more than just a new voice—he is half a dozen brilliant new voices. – Philip Roth
Barry Hannah takes fiction by surprise—scenes, shocks, sounds and amazements: an explosive but meticulous originality. – Cynthia Ozick
Talents as broad as this thrive in novels but rarely take to the more constricting form of the short story. Airships proves Barry Hannah an exception…artfully rounded-off vignettes jumping with humor and menace….The stories bounce off and echo one another, giving the book an impact greater than the sum of its parts….Most young Southern writers resent being compared to such past giants as Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor. In embracing the gothic mode, Hannah has planted himself firmly on their turf. On the evidence of this book, their shadows are not stunting his growth. – Time

Joy Williams – Taking Care (1985)

Bibliographic Description

85.08.W014: Williams – Taking Care

First Vintage Books Edition, August 1985

128 leaves, pp. [10] 1-3 4-11 12-15 16-27 28-31 32-36 37-39 40-48 49-51 52-65 66-69 70-76 77-79 80-94 95-97 98-109 110-113 114-123 124-27 128-142 143-145 146-152 153-155 156-171 172-175 176-191 192-195 196-209 210-213 214-230 231-233 234-244 [2]

Contents: π1a blurbs and author photo, π1b “ALSO AVAILABLE IN VINTAGE CONTEMPORARIES”, π2a half-title, π2b blank, π3a title, π3b imprint, π4a dedication, π4b blank, π5a contents, π5b blank, 1-244 Taking Care: 1-11 “The Lover”, 12 blank, 13-27 “Summer”, 28 blank, 29-36 “Preparation | for a Collie”, 37-48 “The Wedding”, 49-65 “Woods”, 66 blank, 67-76 “Shepherd”, 77-94 “Train”, 95-109 “The Excursion”, 110 blank, 111-123 “The Yard Boy”, 124 blank, 125-142 “Winter Chemistry”, 143-152 “Shorelines”, 153-171 “Building”, 172 blank, 173-191 “Traveling to | Pridesup”, 192 blank, 193-209 “The Farm”, 210 blank, 211-230 “Breakfast”, 231-244 “Taking Care”; χ1a blank, χ1b about the author.

Cover design by Lorraine Louie; cover illustration by Rick Lovell; interior author photo by J.B. McCourtney.

Copies: JDP 1.1 (presumed)

Blurbs

(front cover) Hypnotic…one of our most remarkable storytellers. – Ann Beattie
Prose of indiscriminate radiance….These stories seem closest in spirit to Flannery O’Connor and Joyce Carol Oates. Like fine music, they circumvent the intellect…we gaze directly into the soul of her characters. – The Washington Post Book World
Beneath the beautiful surface of Joy Williams’ work, there is a half-spoken undercurrent. She catches, better than anyone writing today, the ominous vision at the corner of the eye, and makes it inevitable. – Mary Lee Settle
Wonderful, crisp writing, consistently percipient and witty….The final two stories, one a delicate treasure, the other overflowing with mad comic energy, are alone worth the price of the book. – The New York Times Book Review
Uncommonly good stories: sharp-edged, smart about life, and mitred into this excellent collection with great care. – The Chicago Tribuine
These stories are so chillingly astute about the question of love that one wonders if one has ever really thought about love before, much less been in love before. – Jim Harrison

Raymond Carver – Cathedral (1984)

Bibliographic Description

84.09.W001: Raymond Carver – Cathedral

CATHEDRAL | STORIES | Raymond Carver | Vintage Contemporaries | VINTAGE BOOKS • A DIVISION OF RANDOM HOUSE • NEW YORK

First Vintage Books Edition, September 1984

120 leaves, pp. [10] 1-4 5-228 [2] [only odd-numbered pages numbered from 5-228]

Contents: π1a blurbs and author photo, π1b “ALSO AVAILABLE IN VINTAGE CONTEMPORARIES”, π2a half-title, π2b blank, π3a title-page, π3b imprint, π4a dedication “FOR TESS GALLAGHER | AND IN MEMORY OF JOHN GARDNER”, π4b blank, π5a table of contents, π5b blank, 1fly-title, 2blank, 3-228 Cathedral: 3-26 “Feathers”, 27-33 “Chef’s House”, 34 blank, 35-46 “Preservation”, 47-58 “The Compartment”, 59-89 “A Small, Good Thing”, 90 blank, 91-109 “Vitamins”, 110 blank, 111-125 “Careful”, 126 blank, 127-146 “Where I’m Calling From”, 147-156 “The Train”, 157-186 “Fever”, 187-208 “The Bridle”, 209-228 “Cathedral”; χ 1a blank, χ 1b about the author.

Cover design by Lorraine Louie; cover illustration by Marc Tauss; interior author photo by Kelly Wise.

Copies: JDP 1.1 (presumed)

Blurbs

(front cover) One of the great short story writers of our time–any time. – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Cathedral contains astonishing achievements, which bespeak a writer expanding his range and intentions. – The Boston Globe
A dozen stories that overflow with the danger, excitement, mystery and possibility of life….Carver is a writer of astonishing compassion and honesty…his eye set only on describing and revealing the world as he sees it. His eye is so clear, it almost breaks your heart. – Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post Book World
A few of Mr. Carver’s stories can already be counted among the masterpieces of American fiction…Cathedral shows a gifted writer struggling for a larger scope of reference, a finer touch of nuance. – Irving Howe, front page, The New York Times Book Review
Carver is more than a realist; there is, in some of his stories, a strangeness, the husk of a myth. – The Los Angeles Times
Written in the simplest of styles, mirroring the language of everyday, [these stories] possess an awesome mesmerizing power. Out of the moments when good luck runs out, Carver makes the highest art. – Dan Cryer, Newsday