• For Your Consideration: 

• An EXTREMELY SCARCE Hardcover (First US Edition, First Printing) by:

• NATALIA GINZBURG

• “VOICES IN THE EVENING” (A NOVEL) (DUTTON, 1963)

• AUTHOR’S NOTE: “The places and characters in this story are imaginary. The first are not found on any map, the others are not alive, nor have ever lived, in any part of the world. I am sorry to say this having loved them as though they were real.”

• ABOUT THE AUTHOR & TITLE:

• “NATALIA GINZBURG, a glowing light of modern Italian literature…should be more widely and fervidly known by American readers…. GINZBURG’s magic is the utter simplicity of her prose, suddenly illuminated by one word that makes a lightning stroke of a plain phrase...As direct and clean as if it were carved in stone, it yet speaks thoughts of the heart.”

—KATE SIMON, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (1986)

• “An author commonly ranked with UMBERTO ECO as one of Italy’s most important writers of fiction…. The subtlety and economy of MISS GINZBURG’s style has prompted critics to liken her to CHEKHOV.” 

—NEW YORK TIMES (AUTHOR’S OBITUARY, 1991)

• “GINZBURG never raises her voice, never strains for effect, never judges her creations. Though blessed with the rhythms and tensile strength of verse, her language is economical and spare, subordinate to the demands of the story. Like CHEKHOV, she knows how to stand back and let her characters expose their own lives, their frailties and strengths, their illusions and private griefs. The result is nearly translucent writing—writing so clear, so direct, so seemingly simple that it gives the reader the magical sense of apprehending the world for the first time.”

—MICHIKO KAKUTANI, NEW YORK TIMES (1990)

• “I’m utterly entranced by GINZBURG’s style—her mysterious directness, her salutary ability to lay things bare that never feels contrived or cold, only necessary, honest, clear.”
—MAGGIE NELSON

• “The voice is instantly, almost violently recognizable — aloof, amused and melancholy. The metaphors are sparse and ordinary; the language plain, but every word load-bearing. Short sentences detonate into scenes of shocking cruelty. Even in middling translations, it is a style that cannot be subsumed; NATALIA GINZBURG can only sound like herself.”

—PARUL SEHGAL, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (2019)

• “There is something of BECKETT in GINZBURG’s prose; of CHEKHOV, whom she greatly admired; and of SHAKESPEARE’s late plays, in which tragedy most often occurs offstage. It is one of life’s mysteries that what makes tragedy both bearable and unbearable is the same thing—that life goes on.”

—CYNTHIA ZARIN, THE NEW YORKER

• “GINZBURG beautiful words have such solidity and simplicity. I read her with joy and amazement.”
—TESSA HADLEY

• “Her sentences have great precision and clarity, and I learn a lot when I read her.”
—ZADIE SMITH

• “Few writers of recent decades can paint characters with such striking economy, one thinks of ERNEST HEMINGWAY as a comparable writer.”
—RTÉ

• “Her simplicity is an achievement, hard-won and remarkable, and the more welcome in a literary world where the cloak of omniscience is all too readily donned.”
—WILLIAM WEAVER, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

• “The raw beauty of GINZBURG’s prose compels our gaze. First we look inward, with the shock of recognition inspired by all great writing, and then, inevitably, out at the shared world she evokes with such uncompromising clarity.”
—HILMA WOLITZER

• “There is no one quite like GINZBURG for telling it like it is. Her unique, immediately recognizable voice is at once clear and shaded, artless and sly, able to speak of the deepest sorrows and smallest pleasures of everyday life.”
—PHILLIP LOPATE

• “GINZBURG gives us a new template for the female voice and an idea of what it might sound like.”
—RACHEL CUSK

• “What impels her forward is the voice: free, pellucid, almost always first-person, interested not in the long view but in the here and now.”
—THE NEW REPUBLIC

• “The prose is plain, direct but restrained, and much goes unsaid. Domestic life, its frustrations and miseries, occupies the foreground, the outside world barely discernible at the edges.”
—LIDIJA HAAS, HARPER'S

• “Sharp and lively.”
—LYDIA DAVIS

• “NATALIA GINZBURG has been recognized for many decades as a major force in Italian letters, but it is only in recent years that her work has begun to be read and appreciated in the English-speaking world. VOICES IN THE EVENING, a short novel first published in Italy in 1961, is the story of a northern Italian factory town during and after World War II. In its pages, quiet ironies abound….”
—WILLIAM FERGUSON, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (1990)

• “Another of the understated, richly evocative novels for which she is known, GINZBURG takes us into an Italian village whose almost claustrophobic atmosphere reflects its residents' entanglements as they cope in various ways with the creeping changes in lifestyle brought about by fascism and by modernization. At the center of this elegant, spare novel, translated with apparent seamlessness, is a doomed, yet not sad, love affair.”
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

• “NATALIA learned that unhappiness, though it feels quite powerful, doesn’t always help one write well…. She always knew how to convert [her] griefs into some sort of beauty.”

—JOAN ACOCELLA, THE NEW YORKER

• “It’s as though GINZBURG is exploring the effects of the war on people’s lives at the level of dialogue, more so than the level of event. Reading VOICES IN THE EVENING is like eavesdropping on a community that’s been worn down by everything it has been through.

—DAVID’S BOOK WORLD (BLOG)

• “GINZBURG did not overdramatise the war in her writing, but sought to integrate it into daily life; it seemed part of normality until it came close and then it tore the lives of her characters asunder.”

—COLM TÓIBÍN, FROM HIS INTRO TO THE REISSUE

• “A profound commentary on Italian life.”
—TIM PARKS, LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS

• “GINZBURG’s narrative proceeds by pen portrait and vignette, elucidating how its cast of characters are both connected and also, whether as a result of external forces or by personal inclination, or both, isolated…. GINZBURG’s efforts to bring those buried stories to the surface are compelling, strange and wonderful to see in their English version.”

—ALEX CLARK, THE GUARDIAN

• “Her observations are swift and exact, usually irradiated by an unruly and often satirical humor. The instrument with which she writes is fine, wonderfully flexible and keen, and the quality of her attention is singular. The voice is pure and unmannered, both entrancing and alarming, elegantly streamlined by the authority of a powerful intelligence.”
—DEBORAH EISENBERG, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, I

• “She was, in short, a born writer, and someone deeply engaged with the world she lived in.”

—DEBORAH EISENBERG, NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, II

• “I think of a writer as a river: you reflect what passes before you. The trees pass, and the houses; you reflect what is there.”

—NATALIA GINZBURG

•

• For details about this book, please see below.
•

TITLE: “VOICES IN THE EVENING” (A NOVEL)

AUTHOR: NATALIA GINZBURG

TRANSLATOR: D.M. LOW

COVER ART: UNNAMED (but fetching!)

TYPE: HARDCOVER

PAGES: 171

PUBLISHER, LOCALE, & YEAR: E.P. DUTTON & CO. (New York), 1963

FIRST PUBLISHED IN ITALY: 1961

EDITION: First US Edition, First Printing*

No later editions are mentioned, which, at this time, indicated a Dutton First Printing, RE: “E.P. DUTTON & CO., INC…. Statement for 1960**: First Printings were not indicated.” —“FIRST EDITIONS: A Guide to Identification” Edited by Zempel & Verkler (1985, 2^ndEdition)

(**In 1976, DUTTON’s policy changed to indicating First Editions.)

Also: “E.P. DUTTON & COMPANY, INC.: There are two ways of identifying their first editions: (1) by the imprint, ‘First Edition,’ on the reverse side of the title page and (2) when there is no mention made of any printings or editions.” —INDEPENENT ONLINE BOOKSELLERS ASSOCIATION

CONDITION of DUST JACKET: VERY GOOD PLUS.

Price is clipped. Top corners chipped; bottom corners rubbed. Top spine tip (& nearby area) has chipping; bottom tip (& nearby) is rubbed. Light shelf-wear at edges. Light scuffing & scratching on front & back. Ghost of (bookstore?) sticker on inside flap. Overall, DJ is very clean & sharp—w/ blue coloring that is still vivid. Please see photos. (Now protected in a Brodart archival cover.)

CONDITION of BOOK ITSELF: VERY GOOD PLUS.
Blue boards are clean w/ slightly rubbed corners. Spine is tight (& uncreased) w/ rubbed bottom. A hint of discoloration runs along top edge. V. faint shelf-wear on bottom edges. Top text-block is lightly smudged; other edges are fine just lightly tanned. Endpapers are fine. Pages are only lightly tanned (from normal aging), but they are also pointedly clean & sharp. Looks unread. SUMMARY: A Semi-Precious Gem in the Form of a Vintage First-Edition Book.

SHIPPING NEWS: This book will be wrapped with care being shipped in a cushioned & sturdy box. THANK YOU!

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1. GENERAL TREATMENT. We enjoy treating FLAPPINCAT customers with honesty & respect & warmth because that’s how we like to be treated when we buy things on eBay.

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NOTE: Though we often recycle shipping materials, we do NOT stint on protection.

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SUMMARY: We know you have many buying options on eBay. FLAPPINCAT tries to be distinctive by being accurate, mindful, and friendly. 

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How We
GRADECONDITION

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DETAILS. The condition of every item we sell will be described in detail.

FLAWS. All discernible flaws will be noted, if not emphasized. 

Of course, the grading of condition can be subjective. And since no grader is perfect, it is possible that we may at times miss a flaw.

It is also possible that we may miss some perfections!

Should we make a mistake, you will find FLAPPINCAT eager to fix things with you. Just send us a note and we’ll get on it.

GRADING SYSTEM. For books and magazines (and even other items), we use these terms (in order of desirability): 

VERY FINE or LIKE NEW
FINE (or EXCELLENT)
NEAR FINE (or NF)
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GOOD
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ACCEPTABLE
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“POOR.” Except in rare cases, for rare items, we tend to avoid selling items that are in utterly “POOR” condition. It is more likely that on a rare item, only one part of an item (out of numerous parts) will be described as “POOR.”

RETURNS. We accept that you may wish to return a purchase because you genuinely think we haven't described and graded its condition properly. We accept that we our* imperfect. We also accept that people can see things differently—and still be civil!

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POP QUIZ. Please feel free to ask questions at any time about condition (or anything else, except math).

EXTRA VISUALS. Although we include multiple photographs in our listings, we usually have others we could share with you. (These extra photos also help to establish a paper-trial in the rare case that an item is damaged en route to you.)

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SHIPPING

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Every item is individually priced for postage. That price can be found in the listing, not here.

UNITED STATES: In the USA, we ship books via MEDIA MAIL. 
Magazines are generally shipped PRIORITY MAIL; the Post Office does not permit magazines which carry advertising to be shipped MEDIA MAIL.

INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS: To those international countries to which we ship (please see list), the cost of postage is calculated by eBay and individually listed with each item.

EXPEDITED SHIPPING: In the United States, EXPEDITED SHIPPING is available if you request, and pay, for it BEFORE we ship your item. 

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NEED MORE TIME? If you need more time to pay, PLEASE just contact us in advance of the deadline. We understand how life happens, so we don't mind being reasonable. Thank you!

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LASTLY

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What more can we say? Haven't we said enough? Well…we can always repeat ourselves. In summary: FLAPPINCAT is genuinely grateful for your patronage and we aim to express that gratitude in every way we can.

Thanks for trusting 
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P.S.
COMINGSOON

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Featuring the best from a long-running collection 
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