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Richard Osborne : Bound in Shells

Seaview Books, New York, 1980

ISBN 0872235882

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. L2 - A first edition (stated) hardcover book in very good condition in very good dust jacket. Dust jacket has some wrinkling on the edges and corners, tanning and light shelf wear. Book has some bumped corners, wrinkling on the spine edges, some light smudges on the page edges, light discoloration and shelf wear. Although not marked in any way, this copy comes from the personal collection of Otto Penzler, legendary editor and founder of the Mysterious Press, an award-winning icon in the genre. 8.5"x5.75", 266 pages. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Moving from the sixties to the seventies, this is a novel about several young metropolitan adults who find or lose their way in life. It is a story of ideals and reality, of hopes and failures, of friendship and its collisions with sexuality. Patrick Sullivan is a young actor and stage manager. Payton Miller is an attorney in a prestigious New York law firm. Old college acquaintances, they meet again by coincidence and become friends, despite the vast differences between the bohemian Patrick and the sophisticated Payton. Both Patrick and Payton are products of their times. The influence of the sixties causes Patrick to choose a life in the arts and a Payton to opt for a rich wife with a peripheral connection to the law firm he hopes will make him a big success. The women in their lives form the vortex for a conflict that will become deadly. Payton's wife, Elizabeth, is spoiled, alcoholic, childless. She becomes increasingly incorrigible as she carries the habits of unrestrained youth into adulthood. Patrick's lover, May, a jazz pianist, thinks it's time to marry and have a family. Both men find themselves mired in conflicting demands and aspirations. Ultimately, Payton faces disaster from an unexpected source. Patrick's dilemmas culminate in his discovery of a crime of which no one else is aware. His efforts to bring it to light threaten the most important relationship in his life. Forced to question his vision of himself and of his place in society, Patrick must struggle with the claims of judicial equity, of romantic love, of self-fulfillment, and of friendship. Bound in Shells is the story of young people striving to transcend their pasts, accept the present, and move on in life. Ultimately, they must accept limitations of opportunity, of vision, and of needs, and adapt to the inexorable power of circumstances.. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Very Good

First Edition