BY NIGHTFALL

New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2010. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2010. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 240 pages. Rare Michael Cunningham collectible set. A fine copy of the Advance Reader's Edition of "By Nightfall" with a fine copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing, both signed by Michael Cunningham. Both precede and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a tiny print run for the exclusive use of the publisher and author (in the case of the ARC) and in a small and limited first print run (in the case of the First Hardcover Edition) . They are now scarce. Presents Michael Cunningham's "By Nightfall". His sixth novel. "Mid-life crisis" is a familiar and fascinating subject. For New Yorkers, it is a fact of life. If New York City is anything in particular, it is a city which cannot seem to get over its protracted mid-life crisis (which is why Jonathan Lethem entitled his New York novel "Chronic City") and indeed seems perversely to thrive because of it. The city mirrors its residents who, after all, make New York what it is. In long-time New Yorkers Rebecca and Peter Harris, Michael Cunningham has given us two of his most memorable characters. Rebecca's younger brother, Ethan, the pivotal third character, is the resentful outsider/trouble-maker who personifies The Rest of America vis-a-vis NYC. Never heavy-handed, Cunningham turns the larger drama of New York mid-life crisis into a nuanced and finely calibrated series of revelations that reach a heart-stopping climactic set piece. Then it ends on a tentative note, an ending that suggests (but does not promise) a new beginning. "Cunningham is drawn to simple, potent plots, saving his energy for the hearts and minds, the groins and guts, of his characters. He makes you turn the pages. You aren't deadened by detail; you're eager to know what happens next. Cunningham writes so well, and with such an economy of language that he can pull up the poet's exact match" (Jeanette Winterson) . An absolute "must-have" title for Michael Cunningham collectors. This copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Michael Cunningham. It comes with a fine copy of the Advance Reader's Edition, which is also very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen by the author. They are both signed directly on the title page, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed set available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. 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 set thus. "A Home At The End of The World" was selected as one of "The 200 Best Novels in English Since 1950" by The Modern Library, the most prestigious list of its kind for the period 1950-1999. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature and The Pen/Faulkner Award in 1999 for "The Hours". One of the finest American writers of our time. A fine set. (SEE ALSO OTHER MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374299080.