Description

“HAMMERBLOWS IN PROSE”: FIRST EDITION OF A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE, BOLDLY SIGNED BY NELSON ALGREN. ALGREN, Nelson. A Walk on the Wild Side. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, (1956). Octavo, original half yellow paper-covered boards, original dust jacket.

First edition, signed by Algren, his  “most critically acclaimed and best-known novel” (ANB).

“Asked to name the best American authors of his day, Ernest Hemingway is said to have replied: ‘Faulkner. (Pause.) Algren.’ Breaking into the fight talk that was one of their tools, Hemingway said, ‘Mr. Algren can hit with both hands and move around, and he will kill you if you’re not awfully careful” (New York Times). Set during the Great Depression, this is Algren’s “most critically acclaimed and best-known novel? Considered by some literary scholars as the last in a line of great Chicago writers, Algren had the ability to shock his readers with what critic Herbert Mitgang described as ‘hammerblows in prose.’ In his works Algren depicts seedy hotels, dirty bars, and dingy police stations and jails while at the same time demonstrating a sympathy and tenderness for the pimps, whores, con men, and losers with whom he identified” (ANB). Screenplay for the 1962 film was co-authored by writers John Fante and Ben Hecht.

Text fine, one tiny spot to fore-edge; dust jacket quite pristine. An exceptional copy in fine condition, scarce signed.