Is My My Year of Rest and Relaxation a First Edition?

The points of issue

• The census claim is CONFIRMED: Penguin Press, New York, published the novel in hardcover on 10 July 2018 (ISBN 9780525522119, 289 pp.), two days ahead of the UK issue
• Penguin Press does not print an edition statement; the first printing is identified solely by the full number line on the copyright page ending in 1 — dealer descriptions consistently key the point as "complete number line including the 1," and any copy with the 1 removed is a later printing
• The Penguin Press issue is the only hardcover first: the Jonathan Cape UK issue of 12 July 2018 (ISBN 9781787330412) and the subsequent Vintage issues (2019, 2021) are softcover, so a collector seeking a hardcover first has one option and one only
• Refer to jacket price only as priced jacket / price present at the flap; an unclipped flap is the desirable state
• Signed copies from the 2018 tour are typically signed to the title page

How Penguin Press marked a first edition

• For reprint titles, firsts are flagged "First published [elsewhere/date]" with the Penguin printing noted as "Published in Penguin Books [Year]" — the FIRST PENGUIN PRINTING is identified by 'Published in Penguin Books […
• Penguin paperback originals: first printing identified by the dated 'Published... [year]' line and absence of a 'Reprinted' line

Full Penguin Press first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the number line — the lowest number is the printing. A line including 1 is a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2). Paste it into the decoder.
4. Verify this is the US true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Rule out a book-club edition — a blind-stamp on the rear board or a jacket with no printed price marks a book-club copy.
6. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

The dust jacket

For a collectible first edition the dust jacket matters as much as the book. Confirm the jacket is present and unclipped — the printed price should still be at the corner of the flap (a clipped corner or a price-less flap can indicate a book-club issue). First-state jackets can differ from later ones in the cover art, blurbs, or review quotations; where a specific first-state jacket point is known for this title it is noted above.

Binding & format

Where multiple bindings exist, the hardcover trade issue is usually (but not always) the precedence copy — confirm against the points above. Later printings often show cheaper cloth, thinner boards, or simplified spine stamping. A simultaneous signed or limited issue, when one exists, is a distinct state from the trade first.

Is this the true first?

True first: Penguin Press, New York, 10 July 2018 — the US issue precedes the UK by two days and is the true first in every sense. Jonathan Cape, London, 12 July 2018 is the UK first but is a paperback issue, which is why it is not the collected first and is not a rival to the American hardcover. Name the US issue as the first and the Cape issue only as the UK first paperback. Trap: the later Vintage "Vintage Heroines" issue (ISBN 9781784877477) and the 2024 Cape reissue are first-thus only.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue is documented for the 2018 first printing. Reprint tells: the title reprinted very heavily after its 2021–22 social-media revival, so surviving copies are overwhelmingly later Penguin Press printings — check the number line before anything else, since jacket, boards and text are unchanged across printings and a later printing is visually identical. Remainder marks to the bottom edge and clipped jacket flaps indicate trade returns, not points of issue. Later Penguin Press printings sometimes add review-quotation leaves not present in the first.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of My Year of Rest and Relaxation a first edition?

A first edition of My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh (Penguin Press) is identified by: The census claim is CONFIRMED: Penguin Press, New York, published the novel in hardcover on 10 July 2018 (ISBN 9780525522119, 289 pp.), two days ahead of the UK issue.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. A number line whose lowest number is 1 marks a first printing (Random House ends at 2). True first: Penguin Press, New York, 10 July 2018 — the US issue precedes the UK by two days and is the true first in every sense.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book-club issue is documented for the 2018 first printing. Reprint tells: the title reprinted very heavily after its 2021–22 social-media revival, so surviving copies are overwhelmingly later Penguin Press printings — check the number line before anything else, since jacket, boards and text are unchanged across printings and a later printing is visually identical. Remainder marks to the bottom edge and clipped jacket flaps indicate trade returns, not points of issue. Later Penguin Press print

I have a first edition of My Year of Rest and Relaxation — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.