Five classics

Henry has added these fine books to the shelves today:

Sams, Ferrol, Epiphany: Stories (Longstreet Press, 1st ed., 1st printing, 1994). ISBN 1-56352-164-4. Three classic tales by the doctor-writer of Fayetteville, Georgia, author of Run With the Horsemen, who died in 2013. A great read. Hardcover, unclipped transparent dust jacket, very good condition. HBB price: $35.

Heller, Joseph, Catch-22 (Random House/Modern Library, ML 375, 1961). The brilliant war satire in a very good copy: hardcover, unclipped dust jacket with slight water stains on back and chipping at head of spine. First-rate, given how rarely ML editions survive with their paper covers. HBB price: $40.

Hutchison, Bruce, Canada: A year of the land (The Queen’s Printer, 1967; Copp & Clark, Ltd., 1st ed. 1969). This remarkable volume was produced in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Confederation of Canada, the Copp & Clark edition was the first commercial production. The book was produced by the National Film Board of Canada. Elephant folio in slipcase. The black front paper has been removed; otherwise, the book is in very good condition. Highly rare. HBB price $75.

Murakami, Haruki, 1Q84 (Vintage International, 1st ed., 1st printing, May 2012). ISBN 978-0-345-80293-4. This deluxe three-volume paperback boxed set--gorgeously designed editions in a see-through case, with a removeable sticker on the shrink wrap packaging--is a collector's item in the making. It beautifully showcases Haruki Murakami's most ambitious novel yet, "1Q84"--a love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a dystopia to rival George Orwell's. The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo. A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver's enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84--"Q is for 'question mark.' A world that bears a question." Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled. As Aomame's and Tengo's narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector. An instant bestseller around the world, "1Q84" is a tremendous feat of imagination from one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary writers. Fine condition, HBB price: $40.

Proulx, Annie, That Old Ace In The Hole (Scribner, 1st ed. 1st printing, 2002). ISBN 0-684-81307-6. Bob Dollar, a bit at loose ends, takes a job as a land scout for Global Pork Rind. His mission: the scour the empty bits of the Southwest, looking for old people with now-worthless spreads in areas where the kids have left and the towns have dried up and blown away. Buy ‘em out and turn the land into hog farms is the goal. Basing himself in a cabin in Woolybucket, Texas, he slowly works his way into the community, he- and his mission- take some remarkable and unexpected turns. A sort of panhandle version of the classic film Local Hero. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, as new. HBB price: $30.