Mother Night
New York: Harper & Row, 1966. 8vo. Very Good+ / Very Good+. Item #15301
A beautiful 1st Hardcover Edition of this early Vonnegut novel, originally issued in paperback form in 1962.
"Back in 1961 Vonnegut was relatively unknown, still feeling out his role as an artist, and about to find his voice.
"Howard Campbell, Jr., the narrator of “Mother Night,” is an American writer living in Germany when the Nazis come to power. He is recruited by United States military intelligence to be a spy when World War II begins. As a respected playwright married to a popular German actress, Campbell easily ingratiates himself to the Nazis and offers his services as an anti-semite.
"Soon Campbell’s Jew-baiting rants are being broadcast on the radio, bringing inspiration and joy to the Nazis, and coded messages to allied agents.
"Vonnegut’s primary moral – be careful about what we pretend to be – is made explicit by Campbell’s Nazi father-in-law who points out that it doesn’t matter whether Campbell was a spy or not. “’All the ideas that I hold now, that make me unashamed of anything I have felt or done as a Nazi, come not from Hitler, not from Goebbels, not from Himmler – but from you.’” - Mark Lindquist
Quarter red cloth over black paper-covered boards. Square tight binding. Clean interior, save for previous owner bookplate to front pastedown.
1st state dust jacket with $4.95 price on inner flap and 'O466' at bottom of same. Light soiling with mild edge wear. Presents handsomely in archival mylar.
A superior edition of an important 20th-century literary work.
Sold