"I was on my way to look for a life of my own." A brilliant, brutally honest autobiographical novel, long out of print, from one of the great artistic polymaths of the 20th century. This is a Sebaldian account of the narrator's attempt to break free of a repressive upper-middle-class upbringing and make his way as an artist and individual, written in a single incantatory paragraph. Leavetaking is the story of an upper-middle-class childhood and adolescence in Berlin between the wars. In the course of the book, Weiss ...
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"I was on my way to look for a life of my own." A brilliant, brutally honest autobiographical novel, long out of print, from one of the great artistic polymaths of the 20th century. This is a Sebaldian account of the narrator's attempt to break free of a repressive upper-middle-class upbringing and make his way as an artist and individual, written in a single incantatory paragraph. Leavetaking is the story of an upper-middle-class childhood and adolescence in Berlin between the wars. In the course of the book, Weiss plumbs the depths of family life: there is the early death of his beloved sister Margit, the difficult relationship with his parents, the fantasies of adolescence and youth, all set in the midst of an increasing anti-Semitism, which forces the Weiss family to move again and again, a peripatetic existence that only intensifies the narrator's growing restlessness. The young narrator is largely oblivious to world events and focused instead on becoming an artist, an ambition frustrated generally by his milieu and specifically by his mother, who, herself a former actress, destroys his paintings during one of the family's moves. In the end, he turns to an older mentor, Harry Haller, a fictionalized portrait of Hermann Hesse, who encouraged and supported Weiss, and with Haller's example before him, the narrator takes his first steps towards a truly independent life. Intensely lyrical, written with great imaginative power, Leavetaking is a vivid evocation of a world that has disappeared and of the narrator's developing consciousness. THE NEVERSINK LIBRARY champions books from around the world that have been overlooked, underappreciated, looked askance at, or foolishly ignored. They are issued in handsome, well-designed editions at reasonable prices in hopes of their passing from one reader to another--and further enriching our culture.
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Add this copy of Leavetaking to cart. $15.50, good condition, Sold by Montclair Book Center rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Montclair, NJ, UNITED STATES, published by HARCOURT, BRACE & WORLD.
Add this copy of The Leavetaking to cart. $25.00, very good condition, Sold by Mark Post Bookseller rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from San Francisco, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1961 by Harcourt, Brace & World.
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Seller's Description:
Stated first edition. LIGHT FOXING TO TOP EDGE, OTHERWISE FINE IN NEAR-FINE, PRICE-CLIPPED DUST JACKET WITH VERY MNOR WEAR. OWNER INSCRIPTION. Translated from the German by Christopher Levenson.
Add this copy of The Leavetaking to cart. $25.00, very good condition, Sold by Xerxes Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Glen Head, NY, UNITED STATES.
Add this copy of The Leavetaking to cart. $30.00, very good condition, Sold by Hockley Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Palgrave, ON, CANADA, published 1961 by Harcourt, Brace & World Inc.
Add this copy of Leavetaking (Neversink) to cart. $71.01, very good condition, Sold by Blue Vase Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Interlochen, MI, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Melville House.
Add this copy of Leavetaking (Neversink) to cart. $76.00, fair condition, Sold by ClickGoodwill rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Indianapolis, IN, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Melville House Publishing.
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Seller's Description:
Fair. This is a paper back book: Used-Acceptable: All pages and the cover are intact, but shrink wrap, dust covers, or boxed set case may be missing. Pages may include limited notes, highlighting, or minor water damage but the text is readable. Item may be missing bundled media.
Add this copy of Leavetaking (Neversink) to cart. $271.65, new condition, Sold by Just one more Chapter rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Miramar, FL, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Melville House.
