FREDDY'S BOOK; By JOHN GARDNER
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1980. First Edition. Cloth. 8vo, beige cloth with gold lettering on spine & embossed cover with "JG," Mylar-protected pictorial dust jacket (unclipped) with upsidedown man entangled in buck horns by Daniel Biamonte who executed 9 more in-text full-page B&W illustrations, [viii] + [246] deckled pages + [2] A Note on the Type. Very Fine / Very Fine. Item #2666
ISBN: 039450920X
John Gardner (1933 – 1982) was an American novelist, essayist, literary critic and university professor. He is best known for his 1971 novel Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf myth from the monster's point of view. A tour de force!
Gardner's other highly respected novels include The Sunlight Dialogues, about a disaffected policeman asked to engage a madman fluent in classical mythology; Grendel, a retelling of the Beowulf legend from the monster's point of view, with an existential subtext; and October Light, about an embittered brother and sister living and feuding with each other in rural Vermont (the novel includes an invented "trashy novel" the woman reads). This last book won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1976.
Gardner was killed in a motorcycle accident on September 14, 1982.
Freddy's Book is Gardner's illustrated novel Freddy's Book, written by an 8-foot tall college student, which brings to life 16th century Scandinavia. The recreation is filled with dreams, escapes, lords, knights, and peasants who struggle with evil and the Devil.
SUPERIOR COPY: clean, tight, bright in a spotless dust jacket.
Price: $45.00