"WHEN PEOPLE STOP LYING YOU KNOW THEY'VE STOPPED CARING"

GADDIS, William. Carpenter's Gothic. (New York): Viking, (1985). Octavo, original half beige cloth, original dust jacket. $800.

First edition, inscribed: "for Ken with best regards William Gaddis. Buffalo April 1986."

"A furious denunciation of what America has made of itself and the world in the waning years of the 20th Century… Gaddis has already proven that he will reach as far and as high as a novelist might. Here, he demonstrates that while he will never kneel before his readers, he is more than willing to address them face to face. Carpenter`s Gothic is a small book, but a major achievement" (Chicago Tribune). "Carpenter's Gothic—a short novel, but as mazily and mercilessly adroit as [Gaddis'] others—should disclose Mr. Gaddis's terrifying artfulness once and for all. Carpenter's Gothic may be Gaddis-in-little, but it is Gaddis to the brim" (New York Times).

Rear flap of dust jacket with one fold. A fine copy.