Published in 1930, Poor Fool was Erskine Caldwell's second novel. Like most of his fiction, it revolves around a gallery of grotesque characters motivated by the basest urges. The novel's central figure is Blondy Niles, a down-and-out boxer who exists at the very fringes of society. The garish nighttime world of bars and prostitutes, con men and petty crimes is the milieu in which he moves. When he is approached by Salty Banks to be an unwitting fall guy in a rigged boxing scheme, a calamitous chain of events is set in ...
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Published in 1930, Poor Fool was Erskine Caldwell's second novel. Like most of his fiction, it revolves around a gallery of grotesque characters motivated by the basest urges. The novel's central figure is Blondy Niles, a down-and-out boxer who exists at the very fringes of society. The garish nighttime world of bars and prostitutes, con men and petty crimes is the milieu in which he moves. When he is approached by Salty Banks to be an unwitting fall guy in a rigged boxing scheme, a calamitous chain of events is set in motion, and death is the inevitable result. Blondy is befriended by a good-hearted prostitute, Louise, but then comes under the powerful, mysterious spell of the gruesome Mrs. Boxx, an enormous, soulless woman who lures him to her house, which has been converted into the most primitive of abortion mills. Despite the terrible acts Mrs. Boxx oversees and that Blondy is compelled to participate in, he inexplicably finds himself unable - or unwilling - to leave this chamber of horror. Only with the help of Dorothy, Mrs. Boxx's younger, daughter, does he finally free himself from the clutches of this demonic, madwoman. Yet freedom proves elusive, for by the end of this surreal, phantasmagoric adventure, Blondy and everyone he cares for have come to a bloody end. Caldwell himself likened Poor Fool to a "diabolical dream." Written early in his career, it foreshadows many of the themes that were to characterize his later novels.
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Add this copy of Poor Fool to cart. $5.80, good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Louisiana State University Press.
Add this copy of Poor Fool (Voices of the South) to cart. $5.88, good condition, Sold by Midtown Scholar Bookstore rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Harrisburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Louisiana State Univ Pr.
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Seller's Description:
Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD Good-Bumped and creased book with tears to the extremities, but not affecting the text block, may have remainder mark or previous owner's name-GOOD PAPERBACK Standard-sized.
Add this copy of Poor Fool (Voices of the South) to cart. $15.21, good condition, Sold by Goldstone Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Ammanford, CARMS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1994 by Louisiana State University Press.
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Good. All orders are dispatched within 1 working day from our UK warehouse. Established in 2004, we are dedicated to recycling unwanted books on behalf of a number of UK charities who benefit from added revenue through the sale of their books plus huge savings in waste disposal. No quibble refund if not completely satisfied.
Add this copy of Poor Fool to cart. $45.00, very good condition, Sold by Westsider Rare & Used Books In rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from New York, NY, UNITED STATES, published 1930 by Rariora Press.
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Seller's Description:
#364 of 1000 numbered copies. 8vo, 188 pp, unopened, uncut copy, illustrated in b/w by Alexander Couard. Spine & small portion of front board lightly sunned, very minor rubbing tail of spine, else a near fine copy without dj.
Add this copy of Poor Fool (Voices of the South) to cart. $46.13, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Louisiana State Univ Pr.
Add this copy of Poor Fool (Voices of the South) to cart. $98.72, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Louisiana State Univ Pr.
Add this copy of Poor Fool to cart. $195.00, like new condition, Sold by Books Of Choice rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bloomington, MN, UNITED STATES, published 1930 by Rariora Press.
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Couard, Alexander. Fine book with no dust jacket as issued. 188 pages. Includes illustrations. First edition. One (979) of 1, 000 numbered edition. Illustrated by Alexander Couard. His second book, a three part boxing story. It follows the career of Blondy, a washed-up fighter to his death. Fine book with just a touch of fading to the spine. No dust jacket. A beautiful copy!
