Because They Wanted To. Stories
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. 1st Edition. Octavo, publisher’s blue textured paper over speckled tan paper-covered boards, spine gilt, original illustrated dust jacket.
"Today the clerk in the fancy deli next door asked me how I was, and I said, 'I have deep longings that will never be satisfied.'" Signed first edition of Mary Gaitskill’s second short story collection. The long-awaited follow up to Bad Behavior, her explosive debut that catapulted her to literary prominence, Because They Wanted To comprises twelve stories exploring the devastations that often attend desire’s fallibility and the inherent alienation of contemporary romantic relationships. Includes "The Dentist," which revolves around a magazine’s writer’s sexual obsession with her dentist; "Tiny, Smiling Daddy," an account of a father’s ambivalence about his only daughter’s sexuality and his failed search for renewed intimacy; and "The Wrong Thing," the closing novella, which traces the protagonist’s series of erotically charged yet equally passionless affairs. Signed by Gaitskil to the title page. First printing with complete number row to copyright page. Unclipped dust jacket with small closed tear to top edge of rear panel, and light creasing to head of spine. Very good. Item #6735
$125.00