The Book of Salt
by TRUONG, Monique
- Used
- very good
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Very Good/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 0701175222
- ISBN 13
- 9780701175221
- Seller
-
Rippleside, Victoria, Australia
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London, United Kingdom: Chatto & Windus, 2003. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Fine. Near fine - a bright, neat copy of the first UK edition. Octavo in original publisher's boards with silver title and credits to spine. Paper stock very slightly age-toned. 'A compelling novel that takes the reader on a strange journey from Indo-China to Paris, the Vietnamese cook to Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas reveals his own fascinating story.'
Synopsis
"[He] came to us through an advertisement that I had in desperation put in the newspaper. It began captivatingly for those days: 'Two American ladies wish . . .' " It was these lines in The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book that inspired The Book of Salt, a brilliant first novel by acclaimed Vietnamese American writer Monique Truong. In Paris, in 1934, Bính has accompanied his employers, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, to the train station for their departure to America. His own destination is unclear: will he go with "the Steins," stay in France, or return to his native Vietnam? Bính has fled his homeland in disgrace, leaving behind his malevolent charlatan of a father and his self-sacrificing mother. For five years, he has been the live-in cook at the famous apartment at 27 rue de Fleurus. Before Bính's decision is revealed, his mesmerizing narrative catapults us back to his youth in French-colonized Vietnam, his years as a galley hand at sea, and his days turning out fragrant repasts for the doyennes of the Lost Generation. Bính knows far more than the contents of the Steins' pantry: he knows their routines and intimacies, their manipulations and follies. With wry insight, he views Stein and Toklas ensconced in blissful domesticity. But is Bính's account reliable? A lost soul, he is a late-night habitué of the Paris demimonde, an exile and an alien, a man of musings and memories, and, possibly, lies. Love is the prize that has eluded him, from his family to the men he has sought out in his far-flung journeys, often at his peril. Intricate, compelling, and witty, the novel weaves in historical characters, from Stein and Toklas to Paul Robeson and Ho Chi Minh, with remarkable originality. Flavors, seas, sweat, tears — The Book of Salt is an inspired feast of storytelling riches.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Sad Paradise Books
(AU)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1708817
- Title
- The Book of Salt
- Author
- TRUONG, Monique
- Format/Binding
- Hard Cover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 0701175222
- ISBN 13
- 9780701175221
- Publisher
- Chatto & Windus
- Place of Publication
- London, United Kingdom
- Date Published
- 2003
- Keywords
- FICTION VIETNAM PARIS GERTRUDE STEIN ALICE B. TOKLAS
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction;
Terms of Sale
Sad Paradise Books
We guarantee that our book descriptions are accurate and meet trade grading standards. Any significant defect will be noted. If you are not satisfied with any purchase from Sad Paradise Books, please contact us within seven days, and we will address your concerns promptly in a professional, courteous manner.
About the Seller
Sad Paradise Books
Biblio member since 2005
Rippleside, Victoria
About Sad Paradise Books
Sad Paradise sells quality used, rare and out-of-print books. We are dedicated to excellence in personal service for our Australian and international customers. Sad Paradise Books is an online book shop on the shore of Corio Bay, Australia.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- Octavo
- Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...
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