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Cook, Christopher : Robbers

Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York City, NY, 2000

ISBN 0786707763

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 372 pages. The author's breakthrough debut novel. Christopher Cook's cult classic, an unrecognized masterpiece. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Christopher Cook's "Robbers". A cut way above the rest: The harsh, foreboding essence of "Cormac McCarthy Texas", recaptured in gritty yet tender prose. "Cook's bloody, bittersweet novel, charting the adventures of two criminal drifters and their pursuer. From the disturbing opening scene in which Eddie and Ray Bob kill a convenience store clerk, the running buddies lash their way across Texas, shooting gas station attendants and shopkeepers, and stealing small amounts of money and food. Young and broke, Eddie is an aspiring blues guitarist, baffled by the violence of Ray Bob, a natural predator for whom killing is not just a thrill but a calling. The boys' aimless adventure eventually includes Della, a woman who patterns her life on women's magazines and desperately aspires to middle-class respectability. While hiding out in a rundown beach house near Galveston, Della and Eddie fall for each other, much to the disgust of Ray Bob. Eddie and Ray Bob split up, Eddie to pursue his romance and career, and Ray Bob to continue his plunder. Just as a crafty Texas Ranger, Rule Hooks, picks up their scent. Hooks, a tracker by training and instinct, relies on modern police methods as well as his gut instincts to sniff out his prey. Cook's plot tumbles from scene to scene with jarring brilliance, the pathos of his characters lending his otherwise brutal world a certain beauty. His imagery is striking, almost lyrical. This gritty crime drama is not for the faint of heart, but Cook's prose sets it a notch above many like novels" (Publishers Weekly). The narrative is familiar terrain of the Southern Texas sub-genre. After all, Cormac McCarthy appropriated it too, virtually unchanged, for "No Country For Old Men" (2005). It's his intricate subtleties and nuances as well as the tenderness amidst the violence that makes his novel so rewarding. An absolute "must-have" title for Christopher Cook collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Christopher Cook. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. Cook's signature on this copy is the best we have ever seen. This title is a cult classic. It inexplicably remains largely unrecognized by the literary mainstream. This is one of few such signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. . ISBN 0786707763.

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