“MOST REALLY PRETTY GIRLS HAVE PRETTY UGLY FEET”: FIRST EDITION OF THE BROOM OF THE SYSTEM

WALLACE, David Foster. The Broom of the System. (New York): Viking, (1987). Octavo, original half black cloth, original dust jacket. $2800.

First edition of Wallace’s acclaimed debut novel.

In the tradition of Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49, Wallace's first novel, written while he was a 24-year-old MFA student, "attempts to give us a portrait, through a combination of Joycean word games, literary parody and zany picaresque adventure, of a contemporary America run amok… Wallace possesses a wealth of talents—a finely-tuned ear for contemporary idioms; an old-fashioned story-telling gift (as evidenced, in particular, by the stories within stories contained in this novel); a seemingly endless capacity for invention and an energetic refusal to compromise" (New York Times).

Book near-fine with usual mild toning to interior and light rubbing to spine, bright dust jacket about-fine. A handsome copy.