Breath and Shadows is about three pairs of people who live in widely separated periods of time -- the late 1700s, late 1800s, and late 1900s. These people, as gradually becomes clear, are three generations of the same family, none of which has any knowledge of the other two. But there exists down through these far-flung generations a meshwork of cause and effect that reverberates all the way into the present. The interrelatedness of these three pairs of people, the twining of their destinies, is the core of the book. ...
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Breath and Shadows is about three pairs of people who live in widely separated periods of time -- the late 1700s, late 1800s, and late 1900s. These people, as gradually becomes clear, are three generations of the same family, none of which has any knowledge of the other two. But there exists down through these far-flung generations a meshwork of cause and effect that reverberates all the way into the present. The interrelatedness of these three pairs of people, the twining of their destinies, is the core of the book. Though the novel takes place in three different centuries, it is rooted in such timeless attributes as social mores, class and money, as well as in historical events such as the battle at Leipzig, where Napoleon was crushed, and the ruins of Berlin in 1945. These events are woven through the private lives of the characters, among whom are a lonely and young officer, a sculptress trying to find truth in the stone she works with, a man terrified of flying who forces himself to fly constantly, a woman who embodies the ineffable bond between an animal and a human being, and others responding to their world, their natures and their needs. It is a novel about the attempt of human beings to know the past, to know one another and to know themselves. It is about love, loss, sexual passion, human perception and the possibility that the search for goodness may be an act of insanity.
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Seller's Description:
Former library book with the usual stamps, stickers and labels. The item shows wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact (including the dust cover, if applicable). Spine may show signs of wear. Pages may include limited notes and highlighting. May NOT include discs, access code or other supplemental materials.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good in Very Good jacket. Size: 6x1x12; Inscribed by author on half title page & signed on title page. Minor shelf wear to binding. Light wear & soiling on edges of text block. Text and images unmarked. The dust jacket shows some light handling, in a mylar cover.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in fine dust jacket. SIGNED by the author on the title page (signature only). 1st edition, 1st printing, complete number line. Dust jacket essentially as new. Mild softening to base of book spine. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. By the author of 'The Knight, Death, and The Devil' and 'Last Courtesies and Other Stories'. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a protective mylar sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box.
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Seller's Description:
Very good in very good dust jacket. SIGNED by the author on the title page (signature only). 1st edition, 1st printing, complete number line. Corners bumped; a crease in the front of the dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. By the author of 'The Knight, Death, and The Devil' and 'Last Courtesies and Other Stories'. Where possible, all books come with dust jacket in a protective mylar sleeve, sealed in a ziplock bag, wrapped in bubble wrap, shipped in a box.