The Lesbian Body. Translated from the French by David Le Vay
New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1975. 1st US Edition. Octavo, publisher’s beige cloth over orange paper-covered boards, spine stamped in orange, black endpapers, original illustrated dust jacket.
First US edition of French feminist writer and theorist Monique Wittig’s third novel. A follow up to her landmark Les Guérillères (1969), the story is set on a Sapphic island and relates the sadomasochistic sexual encounters among the inhabitants. Incorporating graphic depictions of dismemberment and cannibalism, the book is considered Wittig’s most violent and theoretically difficult work. In an interview, Wittig asserted that her inclusion of graphic imagery and her "cutting" of pronouns (e.g., "j/e" for je and "t/u" for tu), evocative of French feminist theorist Hélène Cixous’s concept of écriture feminine, was integral to her project of laying bare the hetero-patriarchal order. Translated from the French by David Le Vay. Dust jacket designed by Honi Werner. Originally published in France in 1973. Owner inscription to half-title. Light soiling to spine; unclipped dust jacket with chipping to spine-ends and approximately one-inch vertical chip to spine panel, with some edgewear. Good. Item #7114
$100.00