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A puberty ago, I watched from my office window one afternoon as she descended into baking sunlight on the library steps in a Spanish-looking straw hat (Eton boating style), drape-swinging her legs in polychrome-striped bell-bottoms, behind her the terminal moraine of black hair that set her out from the crowd since she was ten.Readers who get through this description unscathed will soon find themselves up against shuddering orgasms, neuter rhapsodies, and "a stained-glass window arranged on a dangling penis," to name just a few more metaphors contained within the same paragraph. And so it goes for 300 pages.
But there is a story lurking beneath all this verbiage. West chronicles his quarter-century relationship with his wife, beginning with their first meeting when "Ariada" is his student in a 20th-century British fiction class and continuing through their friendship with astronomer Carl Sagan--here disguised as Raoul Bunsen. Love, belles lettres, and the stars afford West plenty of scope for his wild flights of lyricism and even wilder forays into introspection. Life with Swan may well appeal to readers who enjoy free-flying prose; for those who prefer their novels less acrobatic, however, it could prove an exhausting read. --Alix Wilber
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Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First edition. First printing. Hardbound. Fine/Near fine ith some DJ rubbing and remainder pen mark lower edge. A tight unread copy. Novel. SALE. Seller Inventory # 6154
Book Description Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged. Seller Inventory # GOR004974191
Book Description hardcover. Condition: Fine copy in fine dust jacket. 1st edition. 8vo, 300 pp. Seller Inventory # 060106
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good+. octavo; 300 pages. Seller Inventory # 10578
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Printing. Blue paper-covered boards with gilt lettering. Text is clean and white, no marks. Unclipped DJ shows light uneven sunning, mild scuffing. In this remarkable roman à clef, West transcribes and transforms his own life and love with captivating eloquence. Recounting his now-quarter-century union with Swan (poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman) with wit and tenderness, the narrator re-creates their times together and their friendship with Raoul Bunsen- a Carl Sagan-like character." (from the jacket). Seller Inventory # H5611
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. Stiff unmarked book, about new with remainder line; in lightly rubbed DJ. ; 1.06 x 8.74 x 5.76 Inches; 304 pages; In this remarkable roman à clef, Paul West transcribes and transforms his own life and love with captivating eloquence. Recounting his now-quarter-century union with Swan (poet and naturalist Diane Ackerman) with wit and tenderness, the narrator re-creates their times together and their friendship with Raoul Bunsen -- a Carl Sagan-like character.Meeting Bunsen turns out to be one of the most fortunate events of their shared lives, for he fans the couple's passion for all things astronomical. Through Bunsen's connections, they are invited to behind-the-scenes looks at momentous shuttle launches at Cape Canaveral and cosmic discoveries at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena -- experiences that prove creatively inspiring for them both. Their agony and elation over the failures and successes they witness are told with a breathtaking precision that illuminates the space program while bringing to it a rare humanity.This is a story about a deep and honest love that burns undaunted, whether suffering the hilarious indignities and excesses of ivy-covered academia or the highs and lows of coming face-to-face with our galaxy. Haunted by astronomy, these literary lovers forge a bond that transcends the divide between art and science.West's prose burns with emotion and passion, building over the course of the book to a majestic conclusion. Life with Swan is a unique and poignant novel that touches the heart, engages the mind, and stirs the soul. Seller Inventory # 22740
Book Description Condition: Very Good. First edition copy. . Like New dust jacket. In protective mylar cover. (Novelist, Women Poets, Women Naturalists, Astronomers, Romance Fiction). Seller Inventory # NC01B-00571
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As New. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Some creasing to dust jacket. Seller Inventory # ld9094
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As New. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Fine. Seller Inventory # ld9024
Book Description Hardcover. Condition: As New. Prompt shipment, with tracking. we ship in CLEAN SECURE BOXES NEW BOXES Fine. Seller Inventory # ld9023