THIS SHAPE WE'RE IN

New York City, NY: McSweeney's Books, 2001. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: McSweeney's Books, 2001. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 55 pages. The author's debut novella. The First Hardcover Edition. 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 scarce. Presents Jonathan Lethem's "This Shape We're In". Indisputably, one of the best books published so far by Dave Eggers and McSweeney's Books project, in a brilliant production by Chester Brown. Lethem's fascination with literature itself and its various genres, whether science fiction, the detective thriller or the autobiographical novel, enhances rather than detracts from his ultimate goal: The playful but genuine meditation on contemporary life. He tells a tale by using the poetry and glory of the English language, with often inspired and always interesting results. An absolute "must-have" title for Jonathan Lethem collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Jonathan Lethem. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. His signature virtually fills up the page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still 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 scarce signed copy thus. Winner of the Crawford Award for Best Fantasy Novel and the Locus Award for Best First Novel in 1994 for "Gun, With Occasional Music". Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999 for "Motherless Brooklyn". Selected as one of the "Best Books of The Year" by the New York Times in 2003 for "Fortress of Solitude". Winner of the MacArthur Genius Grant in 2005. One of the most brilliant new voices in American literature. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER JONATHAN LETHEM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0970335520.