THIRTY GIRLS

New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2014. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 310 pages. The author's fifth novel. Now considered a contemporary classic. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly copies that are signed on a tipped-in page. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Susan Minot's "Thirty Girls". Her best novel thus far. The title refers to the girls who were held hostage and kept as sex-slaves by the globally notorious yet elusive Joseph Kony and his army of child warriors. "Rebels in the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda burst into a convent dormitory, seize 139 schoolgirls, and march them off into the night. Sister Giulia follows and bravely argues for their release. She returns with 109. The outlaws keep 30, including smart, courageous Esther. Jane, an American writer and youngish widow, visits a friend in Kenya, and takes up with Harry, who is passionate about para-gliding, a poetic and apt embodiment of the illusion of freedom: Though you feel exhilarated in flight, you are at the mercy of forces beyond your control. Jane is on her way to Uganda to speak with young women at a camp for traumatized children who escaped their enslavement to the psychotic rebels. Contrasts Esther's and Jane's radically different yet profoundly transforming journeys in a perfectly choreographed, devastatingly revealing collision of realities. So sure is Minot's touch in this masterwork, so piercing yet respectful her insights into suffering and strength that she dramatizes horrific truths, obdurate mysteries, and painful recognition with both bone-deep understanding and breathtaking beauty" (Booklist). "Her best work yet" (Joan Didion). An absolute "must-have" title for Susan Minot collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed, placed, and dated (on the day of publication) in black pen by the author: "Susan Minot 21 Feb 2014 NYC". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page, as copies available online are. Minot launched the book in New York City. Laid-in is a pristine copy of the Souvenir Program of the event during which her signature was obtained. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed, placed, and publication-day dated copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant American writers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER SUSAN MINOT TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0307266389.