# Is "Odd Number" by Gilbert Sorrentino a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Odd Number by Gilbert Sorrentino (North Point Press, 1985) is identified by: First printing, North Point Press, San Francisco, 1985; ISBN 0-86547-212-2. True first is the 1985 North Point Press edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First 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
- Publisher imprint reads North Point Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gilbert Sorrentino |
| Publisher | North Point Press |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing, North Point Press, San Francisco, 1985 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First 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.

## Is this the true first?
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.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None notable.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Odd Number* by Gilbert Sorrentino a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/odd-number
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.