Appointment in Samarra (Modern Library) - Hardcover

John O'Hara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679601104 ISBN 13: 9780679601104

Publisher: Random House Inc, 1994

Synopsis

A novel about the price one man was forced to pay for rejecting a life of moderation

About this title

Review:

" Exceptionally brilliant." -- "New York Herald Tribune
"" [O'Hara] is the only American writer to whom America presents itself as a social scene in the way it once presented itself to Henry James, or France to Proust." -- Lionel Trilling, "The New York Times
"" Dramatic . . . exciting . . . vivid and written at high speed . . . accurate and often penetrating." -- "The Nation
"" If you want to read a book by a man who knows exactly what he is writing about and has written it marvelously well, read Appointment in Samarra,""" -- Ernest Hemingway

"Exceptionally brilliant." --"New York Herald Tribune

""[O'Hara] is the only American writer to whom America presents itself as a social scene in the way it once presented itself to Henry James, or France to Proust." --Lionel Trilling, "The New York Times

""Dramatic . . . exciting . . . vivid and written at high speed . . . accurate and often penetrating." --"The Nation

""If you want to read a book by a man who knows exactly what he is writing about and has written it marvelously well, read Appointment in Samarra"."" --Ernest Hemingway

"If you want to read a book by a man who knows exactly what he is writing about and has written it marvelously well, read "Appointment in Samarra"." --Ernest Hemingway

""Appointment in Samarra" lives frighteningly in the mind." --John Updike

"It is alive with compelling characters and O'Hara's dead-on dialogue and sharp observations." --"Chicago"" Tribune's Printers Row"

"[O'Hara] was as acute a social observer as Fitzgerald, as spare a stylist as Hemingway, and in his creation of Gibbsville, in western Pennsylvania, he invented a kind of small-bore variation on Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County." --"Los Angeles"" Times"

"With a dazzling new cover and smart new introduction, one of my favorite novels, "Appointment in Samarra" by John O'Hara, is reborn. . . . This novel about class, drinking and sex is fun--and incredibly smart." --Elizabeth Taylor, "Chicago"" Tribune"

"O'Hara was one of Mom's favorite authors. . . . 'So I finally read Appointment in Samarra, ' I told her. 'I'd always thought that book had something to do with Iraq.' . . . 'It does apply to Iraq, even if that's not at all what it's about. It's a book about setting things in motion and then being too proud and stubborn to apologize and to change course.' " "--"from "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe

"With a dazzling new cover and smart new introduction, one of my favorite novels, "Appointment in Samarra" by John O'Hara, is reborn. . . . This novel about class, drinking and sex is fun--and incredibly smart." --Elizabeth Taylor, "Chicago Tribune"
"[A] gorgeous new edition . . . "Appointment in Samarra" still astonishes and amazes; and [O'Hara's] style and themes--a bridge, if you will, between F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Updike--remain painfully and beautifully relevant today." --"Huffington Post"
"Suspenseful, character-driven--it deserves to be read more." --Joshua Ferris, ""Details"
"
"Transfixing . . . A Jazz Age novel set amidst the early throes of the Depression . . . A striking antidote to contemporary novels like Nathanael West's "Miss Lonelyhearts" and Erskine Caldwell's "Tobacco Road," which remain startling for their implacably cynical view of humanity. O'Hara offers a more nuanced, and more subversive view of the national mood at the cusp of the Depression." --Nathaniel Rich, ""The Daily Beast""
"Nobody who's read it ever forgets "Appointment in Samarra."" --"San Francisco Chronicle"
"An attractive new edition of "Samarra, " with deckled edges and a jazzy cover." --"The Philadelphia Review of Books"
"If you want to read a book by a man who knows exactly what he is writing about and has written it marvelously well, read "Appointment in Samarra."" --Ernest Hemingway
""Appointment in Samarra" lives frighteningly in the mind." --John Updike
"It is alive with compelling characters and O'Hara's dead-on dialogue and sharp observations." --"Chicago Tribune's Printers Row"
"[O'Hara] was as acute a social observer as Fitzgerald, as spare a stylist as Hemingway, and in his creation of Gibbsville, in western Pennsylvania, he invented a kind of small-bore variation on Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County." --"Los Angeles Times"
"An author I love is John O'Hara. . . . I think he's been forgotten by time, but for dialogue lovers, he's a goldmine of inspiration." --Douglas Coupland, "Shelf Awareness"
"O'Hara was one of Mom's favorite authors. . . . 'So I finally read Appointment in Samarra, ' I told her. 'I'd always thought that book had something to do with Iraq.' . . . 'It does apply to Iraq, even if that's not at all what it's about. It's a book about setting things in motion and then being too proud and stubborn to apologize and to change course.' " "--"from "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe

With a dazzling new cover and smart new introduction, one of my favorite novels, "Appointment in Samarra" by John O'Hara, is reborn. . . . This novel about class, drinking and sex is fun and incredibly smart. Elizabeth Taylor, "Chicago Tribune"
[A] gorgeous new edition . . . "Appointment in Samarra" still astonishes and amazes; and [O Hara s] style and themes a bridge, if you will, between F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Updike remain painfully and beautifully relevant today. "Huffington Post"
Suspenseful, character-driven it deserves to be read more. Joshua Ferris, " "Details"
"
Transfixing . . . A Jazz Age novel set amidst the early throes of the Depression . . . A striking antidote to contemporary novels like Nathanael West s"Miss Lonelyhearts"and Erskine Caldwell s"Tobacco Road," which remain startling for their implacably cynical view of humanity. O Hara offers a more nuanced, and more subversive view of the national mood at the cusp of the Depression. Nathaniel Rich, " "The Daily Beast""
Nobody who s read it ever forgets "Appointment in Samarra." "San Francisco Chronicle"
An attractive new edition of"Samarra, "with deckled edges and a jazzy cover. "The Philadelphia Review of Books"
If you want to read a book by a man who knows exactly what he is writing about and has written it marvelously well, read "Appointment in Samarra." Ernest Hemingway
"Appointment in Samarra" lives frighteningly in the mind. John Updike
It is alive with compelling characters and O Hara s dead-on dialogue and sharp observations. "Chicago Tribune s Printers Row"
[O Hara] was as acute a social observer as Fitzgerald, as spare a stylist as Hemingway, and in his creation of Gibbsville, in western Pennsylvania, he invented a kind of small-bore variation on Faulkner s Yoknapatawpha County. "Los Angeles Times"
An author I love is John O Hara. . . . I think he s been forgotten by time, but for dialogue lovers, he s a goldmine of inspiration. Douglas Coupland, "Shelf Awareness"
O Hara was one of Mom s favorite authors. . . . So I finally read Appointment in Samarra, I told her. I'd always thought that book had something to do with Iraq. . . . It does apply to Iraq, even if that s not at all what it s about. It s a book about setting things in motion and then being too proud and stubborn to apologize and to change course. " "from "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe"

John Updike did it later, but I actually think John O Hara did it better dissecting the country club set, the ways everyone interacts with each other, their sex lives and the way men cheat. I can t think of when I ve read a book and thought it had such a modern feeling to what he chooses to say about marriage. Delia Ephron, The Wall Street Journal
With a dazzling new cover and smart new introduction, one of my favorite novels, Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara, is reborn. . . . This novel about class, drinking and sex is fun and incredibly smart. Elizabeth Taylor, Chicago Tribune
[A] gorgeous new edition . . . Appointment in Samarra still astonishes and amazes; and [O Hara s] style and themes a bridge, if you will, between F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Updike remain painfully and beautifully relevant today. Huffington Post
Suspenseful, character-driven it deserves to be read more. Joshua Ferris, Details

Transfixing . . . A Jazz Age novel set amidst the early throes of the Depression . . . A striking antidote to contemporary novels like Nathanael West sMiss Lonelyheartsand Erskine Caldwell sTobacco Road, which remain startling for their implacably cynical view of humanity. O Hara offers a more nuanced, and more subversive view of the national mood at the cusp of the Depression. Nathaniel Rich, The Daily Beast
Nobody who s read it ever forgets Appointment in Samarra. San Francisco Chronicle
An attractive new edition ofSamarra, with deckled edges and a jazzy cover. The Philadelphia Review of Books
If you want to read a book by a man who knows exactly what he is writing about and has written it marvelously well, read Appointment in Samarra. Ernest Hemingway
Appointment in Samarra lives frighteningly in the mind. John Updike
It is alive with compelling characters and O Hara s dead-on dialogue and sharp observations. Chicago Tribune s Printers Row
[O Hara] was as acute a social observer as Fitzgerald, as spare a stylist as Hemingway, and in his creation of Gibbsville, in western Pennsylvania, he invented a kind of small-bore variation on Faulkner s Yoknapatawpha County. Los Angeles Times
An author I love is John O Hara. . . . I think he s been forgotten by time, but for dialogue lovers, he s a goldmine of inspiration. Douglas Coupland, Shelf Awareness
O Hara was one of Mom s favorite authors. . . . So I finally read Appointment in Samarra, I told her. I'd always thought that book had something to do with Iraq. . . . It does apply to Iraq, even if that s not at all what it s about. It s a book about setting things in motion and then being too proud and stubborn to apologize and to change course. from The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe"

Book Description:

'For all its excellence as a social panorama and a sketch of a marriage, it is as a picture of a man destroyed by drink and pride that Appointment in Samarra lives frighteningly in the mind' John Updike

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0679601104
• ISBN 13: 9780679601104
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 269