- First Edition
- Signed
- Softcover
- Used
Seller: Gene W. Baade, Books on the West, Renton, WA, U.S.A.Gene W. Baade, Books on the West
AbeBooks seller since September 7, 2001
Association member: IOBA
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 10.74
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Pictorial wraps. 280 pp. Signed by Parzybok. Please note that the cover of this book is different from the stock photos you see on-line. Vg+ with slight bump top corner.
Seller Inventory # P2040
- Title
- Couch
- Author
- Parzybok, Benjamin (Signed)
- Publisher
- Small Beer Pr, Easthampton
- Publication year
- 2008
- Condition
- Very Good
- Signed
- Signed by Author(s)
- Binding
- Soft cover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1931520542
- ISBN 13
- 9781931520546
- Edition
- First Edition.
- Seller catalogs
- Fiction & Fantasy
"Couch hits on an improbable, even fantastic premise, and then rigorously hews to the logic that it generates, keeping it afloat (at times literally) to the end."
—Los Angeles Times
"Delightfully lighthearted writing. . . . Occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, the enthusiastic prose carries readers through sporadic dark moments . . . Parzybok’s quirky humor recalls the flaws and successes of early Douglas Adams."—Publishers Weekly
"The book succeeds as a conceptual art piece, a literary travelogue, and a fantastical quest."
—Willamette Week
"Hundreds of writers have slavishly imitated—or outright ripped off—Tolkien in ways that connoisseurs of other genres would consider shameless. What Parzybok has done here in adapting the same old song to a world more familiar to the reader is to revive the genre and make it relevant again"
—The Stranger
A Spring Summer Indie Next Reading List Pick: Top 10 Reading Group Suggestions
"Couch follows the quirky journey of Thom, Erik, and Tree as they venture into the unknown at the behest of a magical, orange couch, which has its own plan for their previously boring lives. Parzybok's colorful characters, striking humor, and eccentric magical realism offer up an adventuresome read."
—Christian Crider, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL
A January 2009 Indie Next List Pick
"This funny novel of furniture moving gone awry is a magical realism quest for modern times. Parzybok's touching story explores the aimlessness of our culture, a society of jobs instead of callings, replete with opportunities and choices but without the philosophies and vocations we need to make meaningful decisions."
—Josh Cook, Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA
"A lot of people are looking for magic in the world today, but only Benjamin Parzybok thought to check the sofa, which is, I think, the place it’s most likely to be found. Couch is a slacker epic: a gentle, funny book that ambles merrily from Coupland to Tolkien, and gives couch-surfing (among other things) a whole new meaning.”
—Paul La Farge
"One of the strangest road novels you'll ever read. It's a funny and fun book, and it's also a very smart book. Fans of Tom Robbins or Christopher Moore should enjoy this."
—Handee Books
"It is an upholstered Odyssey unlike any other you are likely to read. It is funny, confusing in places, wild and anarchic. It is part Quixote, part Murakami, part Tom Robbins, part DFS showroom. It has cult hit written all over it."
—Scott, Me and My Big Mouth
Benjamin Parzybok on tour: http://booktour.com/author/benjamin_parzybok
In this exuberant and hilarious debut reminiscent of The Life of Pi and Then We Came to the End, an episode of furniture moving gone awry becomes an impromptu quest of self-discovery, secret histories, and unexpected revelations.
Thom is a computer geek whose hacking of a certain Washington-based software giant has won him a little fame but few job prospects. Erik is a smalltime con man, a fast-talker who is never quite quick enough on his feet. Their roommate, Tree, is a confused clairvoyant whose dreams and prophecies may not be completely off base. After a freak accident fl oods their apartment, the three are evicted—but they have to take their couch with them. The real problem? The couch—huge and orange—won’t let them put it down. Soon the three roommates are on a cross-country trek along back roads, byways, and rail lines, heading far out of Portland and deep into one very weird corner of the American dream.
Benjamin Parzybok is the creator of Gumball Poetry, a journal published through gumball machines, and the Black Magic Insurance Agency, a city-wide mystery/treasure hunt. He has worked as a congressional page, a ghostwriter for the governor of Washington, a web developer, a Taiwanese factory technical writer, an asbestos removal janitor, and a potato sorter. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with the writer Laura Moulton and their two children.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Gene W. Baade, Books on the West
Renton, WA, U.S.A.
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 3.72 | £ 18.61 |
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Store description
VISIT OUR WEBSITE at www.booksonthewest.com. PROSPECTIVE BUYERS of individual books or groups of books MAY CONTACT Gene W. Baade Books on the West for direct purchases (Paypal, check, money order) at (425) 271-6481, or email bookwest@q.com. Gene W. Baade, Books on the West issues regular catalogues of quality rare and used non-fiction (and some fiction) Western books relating to cattle/cowboy culture, Native American history, outlaws and lawmen, Western art and photography, and the whole range of subjects especially related to U.S. history west of the Mississippi River. We also have a stock of various nonfiction, modern fiction, miscellaneous and unusual titles. We are noted for quality customer service & protective packaging for shipment. The great majority of titles that we have on hand are single copies, so undelayed inquiry is recommended. We respond to telephone calls and email messages as promptly as we can. Our shipping fees and payment methods are given under Terms of Sale. We have many titles, especially in the Western field, that are not yet on our ABE database. Please inquire if you have specific wants. Contact us if you'd like us to mail you a current catalogue.…
Specialty
Modern Fiction, Western Americana and Americana, Theology, Misc. & UnusualAssociation member
Seller's business information
Gene W. Baade, Books on the West
WA, U.S.A.
Terms of sale
VISIT OUR WEBSITE at www.booksonthewest.com. PROSPECTIVE BUYERS of individual books or groups of books MAY CONTACT Gene W. Baade Books on the West for direct purchases (Paypal, check, money order) at (425) 271-6481, or email bookwest@q.com. Shipping via USPS media mail: $4.99 first book, $2.50 each additional book. Priority mail: Regular octavo size book $12.65 first book; each additional will be calculated. Oversized books will require additional shipping charge. UPS shipping available & charges will vary according to weight & other factors. In isolated cases, we may request additional shipping remuneration from the buyer to cover insurance for loss or damage on expensive items. That said, we package very carefully to protect the book or product. Orders made directly to us will be held 10 days for receipt of payment unless other arrangements are made. WASHINGTON RESIDENTS WILL HAVE ADDED point of destination sales tax on book(s) & shipping (tax on the latter as per state law). Satisfaction guaranteed. When buyer receives the book, if the condition is not as described, buyer must quickly contact us for instructions about returning books for full refund. We grade our books carefully and describe them accurately.
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If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
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You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
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If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
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We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Gene W. Baade, Books on the West, Renton, Washington, U.S.A., +1 425-271-6481, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
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Shipping terms
Shipping via USPS media mail: $4.99 first book, $2.50 each additional book. Priority mail: Regular octavo size book $12.65 first book; each additional will be calculated. Oversized books will be calculated according to weight of package & zone to be shipped to. UPS shipping available & charges will vary according to weight & other factors. In isolated cases, we may request additional shipping remuneration from the buyer to cover insurance for loss or damage on expensive items. That said, we package very carefully to protect the book or product. PROSPECTIVE BUYERS of individual books or groups of books may contact Gene W. Baade Books on the West FOR DIRECT PURCHASES (Paypal, check, money order) at (425) 271-6481, or email bookwest@q.com. VISIT OUR WEBSITE at www.booksonthewest.com