The High Road. By Edna O’Brien. First American Edition, First Printing. Farrar, Straus, Giroux. New York, 1988.

Edna O’Brien ranks among the best Irish authors of all time, putting her in the class of James Joyce, Seamus Heaney, and George Bernard Shaw. Yet unlike these male counterparts, O’Brien’s work captures the inner lives and desires of women. She writes characters who are relatable and full of personality and idiosyncrasies. Her narratives capture something essential about life in Ireland as a woman in particular. In The High Road, O’Brien is a strong example of her work. Its narrator, Anna, recounts her experiences on the Spanish coast and her intimate friendship with Catalina. The other characters, mainly women, are also vividly portrayed. The work much anticipated, being O’Brien’s first novel published in many years. 

This first American edition, first printing is in fine condition. In the original cloth, fine. Text block fine. In the original dust jacket, fine.

A fine first American edition by Edna O’Brien.