GORE VIDAL—The City and The Pillar Revised—1965—1st Thus HC—"Noble"

Description: • For Your Consideration: • A 1965 HARDCOVER (First Edition Thus) of: • “THE CITY AND THE PILLAR REVISED:INCLUDING AN ESSAY, ‘SEX AND THE LAW,’ AND AN AFTERWORD” (E. P. DUTTON & CO., 1965) (HARDCOVER, First Edition Thus) • BY GORE VIDAL • ABOUT THIS TITLE: • “A literary cause célèbre when first published in 1948, [and when the author was twenty-one], GORE VIDAL’s now-classic THE CITY AND THE PILLAR stands as a landmark novel of the gay experience. “JIM, a handsome, all-American athlete, has always been shy around girls. But when he and his best friend, BOB, partake in ‘awful kid stuff,’ the experience forms JIM’s ideal of spiritual completion. Defying his parents’ expectations, Jim strikes out on his own, hoping to find BOB and rekindle their amorous friendship. “Along the way he struggles with what he feels is his unique bond with BOB and with his persistent attraction to other men. Upon finally encountering BOB years later, the force of his hopes for a life together leads to a devastating climax. The first novel of its kind to appear on the American literary landscape, THE CITY AND THE PILLAR remains a forthright and uncompromising portrayal of sexual relationships between men.” —THE PUBLISHER• “Perhaps the most notorious of the gay novels of the 1940s and 1950s.” —IAN YOUNG, “THE GOLDEN AGE OF GAY FICTION”• “A noble work.… An important human document, of excellent and enlightening truthfulness.” —THOMAS MANN • “Certainly one of the best novels of its kind yet published in English. It isn’t sentimental, and it is frank without trying to be sensational and shocking. These are enormous virtues.” —CHRISTOPHER ISHERWOOD • “A brilliant exposé of subterranean life among New York and Hollywood expatriates from normal sex. Essentially, it’s an attempt to clarify the inner stresses of our time, of which the increase in homosexuality and divorce are symptoms.” —THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY • “MR. VIDAL writes with lean strength and effective restraint. His new novel is an artistic achievement.” —WASHINGTON STAR • “The first serious American homosexual novel.” —BERNARD LEVIN, THE TIMES (UK) • “An artistic achievement.” —WASHINGTON POST • “Historically, it is a crucial text, part of that handful of canonical testaments to 20th-century gay male life before Stonewall, alongside MAURICE (1913-14, 1971), GIOVANNI’S ROOM (1956), and A SINGLE MAN (1964)…. THE CITY AND THE PILLAR is darkly entertaining, historically illuminating, and remorselessly intelligent. Though politics and history have left him behind, as they will leave all of us behind, GORE VIDAL remains a writer to read.” —JOHN PISTELLI (WEBSITE) • “THE CITY AND THE PILLAR clearly deserves a high profile in the library of gay literature, and it did come in at number 9 on the LAMBDA BOOK REPORT’s January, 2000 list of the 100 most influential LGBT books. But I suppose that in a society like ours where the latest trends and newest innovations are always preferable to the old and tried (and often tired), I guess it is no wonder that there is so little mention of the book. Now, with the death of GORE VIDAL on July 31, 2012, a look back at this classic and highly entertaining novel is in order—don’t worry, you won’t turn to stone, but you will be fascinated.” —DOMINIC AMBROSE (BLOG) • “The theme is most sensitively handled, the writing, always sober and responsible, quickens often to a lyrical tone, and the detail is closely observed…. The book is impressive.” —THE GUARDIAN (UK) • “Few readers will put this book down unmoved or untaught.” —NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE• “The story in this book, published in 1948, transcends its time and gives readers a plot of immediate relevance and a protagonist who never apologizes. Especially satisfying is the ending VIDAL restored in 1964. It fits the flow of the narrative and deprives the earlier ending of its mandatory homophobia, until recently the price paid for any literary or cinematic treatment of the subject.” —TYLER, AMAZON REVIEWS • “Serous…discerning…courageous.” —LIBRARY JOURNAL• “The book definitely portrays experiences that are timeless—the mark of fine literature—even if the shadowy gay world it portrays is mostly, in Western societies, a thing of the past…. It is a complex and intelligent book.” —JOHN ARTHUR SWEET (BLOG)• “There are moments when it falters…but mostly its on the money…. THE CITY AND THE PILLAR paved the way and for that it should be celebrated.” —DAVE’S BOOK BLOG (BLOG)• “For years I've heard dismissive criticisms of VIDAL’s THE CITY AND THE PILLAR: it was supposedly mediocre, poorly written, self-hating, decidedly minor, badly dated, a trashy melodrama, an undeserving succes de scandale.... Ignoring this chorus of criticism and finally reading the book, I find it a fascinating, highly-readable, picaresque tour of the continent-size closet that was gay America in the 1940s.” —BRIAN A. OARD, MINDFUL PLEASURES (BLOG) • “THE CITY AND THE PILLAR succeeds in carrying out its purpose, and we’re given a complex tapestry of human relationships, regardless of gender and sexual orientation.” —SPEAK ITS NAME (BLOG)• “Homosexuality is pertinent to the book only to the extent that it provides VIDAL with a frame large enough for what he has to say…. All the characters are portrayed in the act of struggle. All are searching for the perfect union of love, and all, with the possible exception of MARIA, fail to find it. Because they do struggle and desire strong enough to dare to hope, their failure to fulfill themselves has immediate consequences, tragic consequences for them and for society. It is for this reason that the novel represents a distinct gain for VIDAL. When one considers that VIDAL has succeeded not merely in putting futility behind him but in making a tragic affirmation in the midst of futility, his achievement becomes impressive indeed.” —JOHN ALDREIDGE, SATURDAY REVIEW OF LITERATURE• “Published in 1948, THE CITY AND THE PILLAR quickly became one of America’s most infamous novels and earned GORE VIDAL the ire of a nation scandalized by its outright representation of homosexuality among red-blooded American men—a condition more often exemplified by transvestites, sexual deviants, and effeminates. Vidal was blacklisted by the NEW YORK TIMES for a period of six years and was forced to write under a pseudonym to regain popularity.” —ENCHANTED & APPALLED (BLOG)• “Presented as the case history of a standard homosexual, this novel adds little that is new to a groaning shelf. MR. VIDAL’s approach is coldly clinical: there is no real attempt to involve the reader's emotions, as the author sets down JIMMIE’s life story—his first experience during his high school days, his life as a cabin boy, a tennis bum, his adventures in Hollywood and points East. Backdrops are gaudy, and JIMMIE’s more ardent acquaintances include a picture star (the idol of a million bobby soxers), a fashionable novelist and members of the armed forces. But the over-all picture is as unsensational as it is boring. JIMMIE comes through as a dull young ox indeed, a doomed young ox who seems suspiciously in love with his doom, and wearies the reader beyond endurance with his endless self-questioning. Like his technique in the beat bars, his failure to grasp his "essence" has a discouraging sameness. MR. VIDAL’s WILLIWAW was more than merely promising: this time, he has produced a novel as sterile as its protagonist.” —C. V. TERRY, NEW YORK TIMES (1948)• • For other details about this book, please see below. • TITLE: “THE CITY AND THE PILLAR REVISED” SUBTITLE: “INCLUDING AN ESSAY, ‘SEX AND THE LAW,’ AND AN AFTERWORD” AUTHOR: GORE VIDAL TYPE: HARDCOVER PUBLISHER, LOCALE, & YEAR: E. P. DUTTON & CO. (New York), 1965EDITION: First US Edition, First Printing* *RE: On the Copyright Page, the statement “Revised Copyright Edition, 1965” —with no later printings listed. PAGES: 249 ISBN: N/A (Pre-ISBN) NOTE: THIS BOOK is not an ex-library copy nor a Book-of-the-Month-Club edition. CONDITION OF DUST JACKET: VERY GOOD MINUS. Price is clipped. Corners & spine tips are chipped. There’s a quarter-inch (closed) cut along the bottom edge & smaller open cuts on the top & bottom edges. Moderate age-toning along edges. Creases & scratches affect on all sides but most of the DJ is bright & clean. (Now protected in a Brodart archival cover.) CONDITION OF BOOK: VERY GOOD. Book is square & firm. Boards are bright & clean. Corners are fine. Spine is tight & uncreased with bumped tips. Text-block edges are moderately age-toned. Endpapers are fine. Pages are lightly age-toned but also pointedly bright & clean—with no writing, no underlining, no highlighting, no tears, no stains, no foxing, no foul odor, etc. LOOKS UNREAD. • SHIPPING NEWS: This book will be wrapped with care before being shipped in a cushioned & sturdy box. THANK YOU! ********************** /\___/\=•ᆺ•= “We believe it’s good business to be good to our customers.” *********** FLAPPINCAT’s HOUSE RULES ***********1. GENERAL TREATMENT. We enjoy treating FLAPPINCAT customers with honesty & respect & warmth because that’s how we like to be treated when we buy things on eBay.2. GENERAL ATTITUDE. 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Price: 52.5 USD

Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina

End Time: 2025-01-31T12:29:24.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.5 USD