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ONDAATJE**, MICHAEL: : THE CAT'S TABLE. ** [Author SIGNED copy.]

LONDON.VINTAGE,2012.

ISBN 9780099554424.

UK,12mo p/b,author SIGNED,1st edn,8th imp.[First UK 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn originally published by Cape,2011.The first UK,12mo p/back edn published by Vintage,2012. Complete number line 8 10 9,so this edn is an author SIGNED+dedicated,1st edn, 8th impression.] VG+.No owner inscrptn,but author's neat,handwritten black ink signature+ dedication: 'To Francesca best - Michael Ondaatje' to title page.Bright,crisp,clean, colour pictorial artwork,by Peter Hassipen, illustated card covers with red,yellow and white lettering; with negligible shelf-wear to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present - but reading creases to spine/backstrip indicating book probably partially and not wholly read.Top +fore-edges generally bright and clean with minimal toning,contents bright,tight and clean, solid and sound with some intentional dog-ear reading creases to some pages' corners throughout the text block.UK,12mo p/b author SIGNED,1st edn,8th imp,3-366pp [paginated]; plus [unpaginated} half-title page,author SIGNED title page,a dedication,an epigram (Joseph Conrad - 'Youth'),a title separator page,and to the rear,separate Author's Note,Acknowledgements and Credits,Thanks pages and 3pp blanks. In the early 1950s,an eleven-year-old boy boards a huge liner bound for England - a 'castle that was to cross the sea'.At mealtimes, he is placed at the lowly 'Cat's Table' with an eccentric group of grown- ups and two other boys,Cassius and Ramadhin.As the ship makes its way across the Indian Ocean,through the Suez Canal,into the Mediterranean,the boys become involved in the worlds and stories of the adults around them,tumbling from one adventure and delicious discovery to another,'bursting all over the place like freed mercury'.And at night, the boys spy on a shackled prisoner - his crime and fate a galvanizing mystery that will haunt them forever.As the narrative moves from the decks and holds of the ship and the boy's adult years,it tells a spellbinding story about the difference between the magical openness of childhood and the burdens of earned understanding - about a life-long journey that began unexpectedly with a spectacular sea voyage,when all on board were 'free of the realities of the earth'. With the ocean liner a brilliant microcosm for the floating dream of childhood,'The Cat's Table' is a vivid, poignant and thrilling book, full of Ondaatje's trademark set-pieces and breathtaking images: a story told with a child's sense of wonder by a novelist at the very height of his powers. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight of this item for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stock(s') shipping quotes are adjusted for any refunds AFTER receipt of order and BEFORE the despatch of the order,especially if the item is offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard US AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence, then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,12mo p/b,author SIGNED,1st edn,8th imp.
'To Francesca best - Michael Ondaatje' .

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