18 Gilbert Sorrentino first editions are documented on this shelf, from The Sky Changes (1966) to The Abyss of Human Illusion (2010) across 10 different publishers. Each linked guide gives the points of issue that separate a true first printing of that Gilbert Sorrentino title from later printings and book-club copies — the publisher and year to expect, the number-line or edition-statement conventions, and the tells that show up in online listings.
Identification only, per the house rule: no prices and no appraisals here. Checking a Gilbert Sorrentino copy in hand? Type the title into the First-Edition Checker or photograph the copyright page with Snap & Sort.
- The Sky Changes — 1966 · Hill & WangHill & Wang, New York, 1966; first edition, first printing. Sorrentino's first novel. Issued in a priced dust jacket with a cover photograph by Robert Frank; the printed jacket price should be present on the true first (price-clipping does not by itself demote it). True first is the 1966 Hill & Wang edition. Sorrentino later revised the text — the only one of his novels he revised, adding and reworking sections — and the revised edition (North Point, 1986; later Dalkey Archive) is a separate 'first thus,' not the true first. None notable.
- Steelwork — 1970 · Pantheon BooksPantheon Books, New York, 1970 (ISBN 0-394-44710-7), first edition with the first printing stated, issued in a dust jacket that retains its printed price on the front flap. The jacket art depicts the stylized street signs at the intersection of 68th Street and Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the setting of the novel. True first is the 1970 Pantheon edition; identifying points are documented in William McPheron's descriptive bibliography of Sorrentino, the standard reference for the author. None notable.
- Imaginative Qualities of Actual Things — 1971 · Pantheon BooksFirst edition stated, Pantheon Books, New York, issued September 1971 (243 pages; ISBN 0394471083 on this and the SBN-era printing). Bound in wheat cloth boards with black spine lettering; book design by Kenneth Miyamoto and jacket design by Bob Anthony. The first-issue dust jacket should retain its original printed price on the flap (a clipped jacket is a condition point, not an edition point). True first is the 1971 Pantheon edition. Later Dalkey Archive and North Point reissues are separate, much later printings. None notable; the 1971 Pantheon hardcover with stated first edition and priced jacket is the true first.
- Splendide-Hôtel — 1973 · New DirectionsIssued simultaneously in two states by New Directions in 1973: a clothbound issue that is a signed, numbered limited edition of 350 copies (signed by Sorrentino at the colophon, cream boards with light-blue cloth spine, clear acetate jacket), and the first New Directions paperback in wrappers. The clothbound copies should carry the limitation/signature; an unsigned cloth copy would not be the limited issue. True first is the 1973 New Directions publication. Both the limited signed clothbound issue and the simultaneous paperback are first printings; the clothbound is the limited issue of 350. None notable.
- Mulligan Stew — 1979 · Grove PressFirst edition, first printing; Grove Press, New York, 1979, with a priced pictorial dust jacket (jacket design and photography by Michael Werner). Red cloth boards with gilt spine lettering. First printing was 8,000 copies; the second Grove printing was 7,000. Sorrentino's best-known novel. True first is the 1979 Grove Press edition, issued simultaneously in hardcover and softcover. UK edition: Marion Boyars, 1980. A Quality Paperback Book Club issue exists; distinguish it from the Grove trade printings.
- Aberration of Starlight — 1980 · Random HouseFirst edition stated on the copyright page in the manner used by Random House at the time. The hardcover was issued in a price-clipped-able dust jacket; confirm a first by the stated edition and the absence of any later-printing notice. ISBN 0-394-51189-1. True first is the 1980 Random House hardcover. A later 1993 Dalkey Archive paperback (ISBN 1-56478-028-7 / 1-56478-439-8) is a reprint, not the first. None notable.
- Crystal Vision — 1981 · North Point PressFirst North Point Press printing, San Francisco, 1981 (ISBN 0-86547-041-3), 289 pages. As was North Point's practice, the title was issued simultaneously in cloth with a dust jacket and in printed wraps; the cloth issue states first printing with no additional printing indicated, and a correct first-issue jacket carries its printed price on the flap (unclipped). The 1981 North Point Press edition is the true first, preceding the UK edition from Marion Boyars. A UK edition was published by Marion Boyars (ISBN 0-7145-2759-8); the US North Point printing precedes it. A later Dalkey Archive paperback (ISBN 1-56478-159-3) is a clearly distinct reprint. No book-club edition affects identification.
- Blue Pastoral — 1983 · North Point PressFirst North Point Press printing, May 1983; ISBN 0-86547-095-2, 315 pages. The hardcover issue is bound in purple cloth over boards with a dust jacket; per North Point practice a simultaneous wraps issue was also produced. Later reprinted by Dalkey Archive Press. True first is the 1983 North Point Press edition. None notable; the Dalkey Archive reissue is a clearly distinct later publication.
- Odd Number — 1985 · North Point PressFirst printing, North Point Press, San Francisco, 1985; ISBN 0-86547-212-2. The cloth issue is bound in blue-gray cloth with the title stamped in silver on the spine, with dust jacket; collation runs to 159 pages of text with 9 preliminary leaves. First volume of the 'Pack of Lies' trilogy. Per North Point practice the title was issued both in cloth (with dust jacket) and in wraps. True first is the 1985 North Point Press edition. Odd Number was later collected with Rose Theatre and Misterioso in 'Pack of Lies: A Trilogy' (Dalkey Archive, 1997), a reprint omnibus. None notable.
- Rose Theatre — 1987 · Dalkey Archive PressFirst Dalkey Archive Press printing, 1987, 139 pages; ISBN 0-916583-23-6. Second volume of the 'Pack of Lies' trilogy, following Odd Number (1985) and preceding Misterioso (1989); its fifteen chapters take their titles from the 1598 inventory of props at London's Rose Theatre. True first is the 1987 Dalkey Archive Press edition; the three novels were later collected as Pack of Lies (Dalkey Archive Press, 1997). None notable.
- Misterioso — 1989 · Dalkey Archive PressFirst Dalkey Archive Press edition, Elmwood Park, Illinois, 1989 (ISBN 0-916583-43-0), the third and concluding volume of the 'Pack of Lies' trilogy that follows Odd Number and Rose Theatre. The trade first edition is a hardcover of 282 pages issued in dust jacket; the jacket should carry its printed price and describe the book as the close of the trilogy. (Note: the earlier description of this title as 'issued…. True first is the 1989 Dalkey Archive Press hardcover. The omnibus Pack of Lies (Dalkey Archive, 1997, ISBN 1-56478-154-3) is a later collected reprint, not the first appearance of Misterioso. No book-club edition of note; distinguish the 1989 first from the 1997 Pack of Lies trilogy collection and any later Dalkey reprintings.
- Under the Shadow — 1991 · Dalkey Archive PressFirst Dalkey Archive Press edition, 1991. Issued simultaneously in two formats: a green-cloth hardcover (ISBN 0-916583-84-2) and trade wraps. The hardcover is generally treated as the primary collectible first state. Confirm via the 1991 Dalkey imprint with no later-printing or number-line indication. True first is the 1991 Dalkey Archive Press edition (Elmwood Park, IL). No prior or precedence-holding edition; UK/other-country precedence is not a factor. No book-club edition of note.
- Red the Fiend — 1995 · Fromm InternationalFirst Fromm International edition, 1995. Hardcover in dust jacket (red cloth spine over taupe boards), ISBN 0-88064-163-0. Confirm via the Fromm imprint and a first-printing dust jacket without later-printing notations. True first is the 1995 Fromm International (New York) hardcover. A later Dalkey Archive paperback reissue exists but does not hold precedence over the Fromm first. No book-club edition of note.
- Gold Fools — 2001 · Green IntegerFirst Green Integer edition (series number 80), 2001. Small-format trade paperback (wraps), ISBN 1-892295-67-9. The novel is written entirely in interrogative sentences, a reliable internal identifier. Confirm via the Green Integer imprint and series number on a priced wrappers copy. True first is the 2001 Green Integer (Los Angeles/Copenhagen) paperback. No competing first. No book-club edition of note.
- Little Casino — 2002 · Coffee House PressFirst Coffee House Press edition, 2002. Trade paperback original (wraps), ISBN 1-56689-126-4, stated First Edition on the copyright page. Confirm via the Coffee House imprint and a priced first-printing wrappers copy. True first is the 2002 Coffee House Press (Minneapolis) paperback original. No competing first. No book-club edition of note.
- The Moon in Its Flight — 2004 · Coffee House PressFirst Coffee House Press edition, 2004. Trade paperback original (wraps), ISBN 1-56689-152-3, stated First Edition. The author's first collected volume of short stories, gathering work spanning about thirty-five years. Confirm via the Coffee House imprint on a priced first-printing wrappers copy. True first is the 2004 Coffee House Press (Minneapolis) paperback original. No competing first. No book-club edition of note.
- Lunar Follies — 2005 · Coffee House PressFirst Coffee House Press edition, 2005. Trade paperback original (wraps), ISBN 1-56689-169-8, stated First Edition. The book comprises fifty-three short satirical 'reviews' named after lunar geographic features. Confirm via the Coffee House imprint on a priced first-printing wrappers copy. True first is the 2005 Coffee House Press (Minneapolis) paperback original. No competing first. No book-club edition of note.
- The Abyss of Human Illusion — 2010 · Coffee House PressFirst Coffee House Press printing; issued as a paperback original in wraps, priced on the lower cover. Title taken from a line by Henry James; carries a preface by Christopher Sorrentino. True first is the 2010 Coffee House Press paperback, published posthumously as Sorrentino's final novel. None notable; issued as a trade paperback original.
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