Loot of the week 30 June 2018


This week's first editions are all new work. The most important work, in my opinion, is Lisa Halliday's debut novel, "Asymmetry", a roman-a-clef of sort  for its fictional depiction of what is believed to be Halliday's romantic relationship with Philip Roth. It was also one of the last novels that Roth read, so that's a poignant remembrance of things past. 

Another debut is Tommy Orange's "There There", already critically acclaimed with exceptionally strong reviews, and signals what may be the beginning of the third native American literary renaissance after Momaday's "House Made of Dawn", and Erdrich's growing oeuvre that reached widespread readership. "There There " was selected by Powell Book as the 74th volume of its Indiespensable program. This is an Indiespensable copy with custom slipcase featuring two feature impressions. 

And then there is Rachel Cusk's "Kudos", the last of what is now known as the "Outline" trilogy, the name adopted from the title of the first book. Cusk is now based in the UK, so I got the UK first edition. It is regrettably difficult to get a UK first edition of "Outline" though.

There is also Lauren Groff's "Florida" after the successful "Fates and Furies" that was shortlisted, in 2015, for the National Book Award (won by Adam Johnson's "Fortune Smiles") and for the National Book Critics Circle Award (won by Paul Beatty's "The Sellout"). Finally, we have Chloe Benjamin's "The Immortalist".

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