About this Item
1st Printing. Signed. 246 pages. Published in 2007. The author's fourteenth novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. 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 wraparound DJ design utilizes the famous photograph of the Twin Towers, still standing tall, surrounded by clouds. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Don DeLillo's "Falling Man". Another DeLillo masterpiece. The title alludes to the often-suppressed photograph of the man who, rather than be engulfed in flames, jumped to his death from one of the Twin Towers on 9/11. DeLillo vividly tells the aftermath through what happens to one of the imaginary survivors, Keith Neudecker. He then "rewinds" at the end and takes the reader back inside the Twin Towers as the planes strike the buildings, one of the most stunningly imagined endings about Apocalypse Now/The End ever written. "Through all the terror, fire, and smoke, DeLillo's voice is steady as a metronome, recounting exactly what happens to Keith as he sees friends and co-workers maimed and dead, navigates the stairs, and, ultimately, is saved. Though several post-9/11 novels have been written, not one of them is as compellingly true, faultlessly conceived, and beautifully written as this novel" (Valerie Ryan). And there are at least two important novels, among other homages, memorials, and other artistic gestures thus far on 9/11: Ian McEwan's "Saturday" and Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close", both published in 2005. Still, DeLillo's connection to 9/11 goes way back: To 1977, with "Players", giving his new book a fuller retrospective power than either McEwan or Foer. The prophetic line in "Players" is eerie: "The towers didn't seem permanent. They remained concepts, no less transient for all their bulk than some routine distortion of light" (Don DeLillo). An absolute "must-have" title for Don DeLillo collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Don DeLillo. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in 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: DeLillo seldom does public signings, and limits the number of books he signs when he does. Signed copies of his books are usually available from the publisher, pre-signed on a tipped-in page, which does not have the same collectible value. A rare signed copy thus. Regarded by the literary critic Harold Bloom as one of the canonical writers of the 20th century. Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the Jerusalem Prize in 1999, the first American writer to be so honored, among numerous other literary prizes. "Underworld" was selected as the second most important work of American fiction of the last 25 years by The New York Times panel of writers, editors, and critics. "Libra" and "White Noise" were included in the Top 20 list. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER DON DELILLO TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 1416546022. Seller Inventory # 20437
Bibliographic Details
Title: FALLING MAN - Rare Fine Copy of The First ...
Publisher: New York City, NY: Scribner, 2007
Publication Date: 2007
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Fine
Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
Signed: Signed by Author
Edition: 1st Edition.
About this title
Keith Neudecker, a lawyer and survivor of the attack, arrives on his estranged wife Lianne's doorstep, covered with soot and blood, carrying someone else's briefcase. In the days and weeks that follow, moments of connection alternate with complete withdrawl from his wife and young son, Justin. He begins a desultory affair with the owner of the briefcase based only on their shared experience of surviving: "the timeless drift of the long spiral down." Justin uses his binoculars to scan the skies with his friends, looking for "Bill Lawton" (a misunderstood version of bin Laden) and more killing planes. Lianne suddenly sees Islam everywhere: in a postcard from a friend, in a neighbor's music--and is frightened and angered by its ubiquity. She is riveted by the Falling Man. Her mother Nina's response is to break up with her long-time German lover over his ancient politics. In short, the old ways and days are gone forever; a new reality has taken over everyone's consciousness. This new way is being tried on, and it doesn't fit. Keith and Lianne weave into reconciliation. Keith becomes a professional poker player and, when questioned by Lianne about the future of this enterprise, he thinks: "There was one final thing, too self-evident to need saying. She wanted to be safe in the world and he did not."
DeLillo also tells the story of Hammad, one of the young men in flight training on the Gulf Coast, who says: "We are willing to die, they are not. This is our srength, to love death, to feel the claim of armed martyrdom." He also asks: "But does a man have to kill himself in order to accomplish something in the world?" His answer is that he is one of the hijackers on the plane that strikes the North Tower.
At the end of the book, De Lillo takes the reader into the Tower as the plane strikes the building. Through all the terror, fire and smoke, De Lillo's voice is steady as a metronome, recounting exactly what happens to Keith as he sees friends and co-workers maimed and dead, navigates the stairs and, ultimately, is saved. Though several post-9/11 novels have been written, not one of them is as compellingly true, faultlessly conceived, and beautifully written as Don De Lillo's Falling Man. --Valerie Ryan
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
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