New York: The Vanguard Press, 1944. First Edition. 191 pp. Hardcover: NEAR FINE. Dust Wrapper: VERY GOOD. Hardcover has minor staining on pastedowns and flyleaf, which also has a pencil marking. Wrapper shows slight fading and creasing; a few minor chips around edges. A nice copy.

The Nobel Prize-winning author’s first novel, which documents a man’s psychological reaction to his inactivity while war rages around him and his uneasy insights into the nature of freedom and choice. Expecting to be inducted into the army, Joseph has given up his job and has carefully prepared for his departure to the battlefront. When his induction is delayed, he finds himself facing a year of idleness. "One of the most honest pieces of testimony on the psychology of a whole generation who have grown up during the Depression and the war", Edmund Wilson, The New Yorker.