In a Free State – V. S. Naipaul
NF/NF

Description

For sale: a rare and exceptional first edition, Third printing of In a Free State by V. S. Naipaul, protected in a new archival wrap. First Edition described, 1971 Andre Deutsch, Third Printing January 1972, stated.

The book is in Near Fine condition with clean, bright boards, strong title gilt on a straight spine, a few light marks on page blocks, tight binding, no  spine tilt, lightly rolled spine ends, mild edge wear, and lightly bumped corners. The interior of the book is also in Near Fine condition with the previous owner’s name, city and date and the ghost of an erased price on the first free end paper. No other marks, inscriptions, or other signs of ownership. The end papers and the interior pages are clean and bright, making it an excellent addition to any collection.

The dust jacket is in Near Fine condition with the price present on the front flap and mild surface and edge wear. First state jacket with no medals. Looks great in a new Brodart archival wrap.

V. S. Naipaul’s Booker Prize winning novel about displacement, the yearning for the good place in someone else’s land and the attendant heartache.

In a Free State tells the story first of an Indian servant in Washington, who becomes an American citizen but feels displaced. Then of a disturbed Asian West Indian in London who, in jail for murder, has never really known where he is. Then the central novel moves to a fictional African country. There, the central characters have to make the long drive to the safety of their compound. By the end of this drive we know everything about the English characters, the African country and the Idi Amin-like future awaiting it.

Ships promptly in corrugated mailer with book wrapped in both craft paper and multiple layers of bubble wrap.