“THE SOLDIER GOT DOWN ON HIS KNEES AND KISSED THE BRICK OF THE DEPOT FLOOR. ‘A KISS FOR MY ITHACA,’ HE SAID”

SAROYAN, William. The Human Comedy. New York: Harcourt, Brace, (1943). Octavo, original pictorial red cloth, original dust jacket. $600.

First edition of Saroyan’s first full-length novel, illustrated by Don Freeman, the basis for the movie starring Mickey Rooney. A fine copy.

A sentimental novel about a teenage boy on the homefront during World War II. Saroyan’s “rhapsodic impressionist writing is at its best in the evocation of mood and the creation of character” (Stringer, 593). Saroyan also wrote the screenplay for Clarence Brown’s film adaptation, which was released the same year as the novel and starred Mickey Rooney.

A beautiful copy.