Heartwood [ Sealed ]

James Lee Burke

New Orleans: B. E. Trice, 1999. Limited Numbered Signed First Edition. Hardcover boards with slipcase. Fine+ in flawless condition / No dust jacket issued/ Slipcase in Fine+ flawless condition still sealed in publisher's original wrap. Item #5322
ISBN: 9781890885083

A B. E. Trice publication, signed and numbered 141 out of a restricted run of 150 copies. Hardcover, quarter bound in forest-green cloth with a matching slipcase. This edition has a facsimile of inner tree growth for the boards. Still sealed in the publisher’s original cellophane wrap, which includes four small ventilation holes. Unopened and never read, the book is in flawless condition. Many collectors value the opportunity to be the first to open an edition, making sealed copies especially sought after.

Signed editions by James Lee Burke have become collectors’ items since the writer stopped touring for signings. B. E. Trice editions have also grown in demand, especially those that remain sealed from the publishing house.

Best of the Book Nook’s Vick Mickunas interviewed Burke on October 5th, 2018 about “Heartwood.” Rumor has it that Burke preferred driving rather than flying for his tours, leading him and his wife, Pearl, to travel across the United States by car. On the day of this particular interview, during a driver switch, "someone" tossed the car keys and they fell into the car’s grill. Even so, Burke still arrived for the interview while his wife was busy engineering ways to retrieve the keys.

During the interview, Burke spoke extensively about “Heartwood,” calling it “My most ambitious book, the best that I’ve published.” He explained that the heartwood tree grows from the center outward, its heart adding layers over time. In the novel, when the protagonist Billy Bob is baptized he's told that the trees growing along the town’s stream are heartwood trees drawing their strength from the purity and coldness of the water, encouraging the young boy to always keep his roots in a clear stream.

“Heartwood” features conflicted characters whose stories span cultures and geography, from the American South to the diamond mines of Zaire. The novel follows a wide array of intersecting plotlines and morally gray figures, ranging from a four-pack-a-day–smoking “loathsome human being” of a sheriff to the denizens of a small town dealing with race, a disappearing middle class and lack of economic promise, street drugs, and gang politics, as well as the ways gang culture has evolved with access to upgraded weapons. Burke worked as a social worker in LA in the 60's and worked with young men who were often recruited into gangs.

Burke, whose laughter comes easily in live interviews (and is absolutely contagious), has openly discussed his writing process with aspiring writers. He prefers writing in longhand and tries to keep the dreams from the previous night fresh in his mind for the next day's work, aiming for 500–1000 words a day.

Price: $180.00  other currencies