Life: A User's Manual

The French original (Hachette / collection P.O.L, Paris, 1978) is the true first, and the census is correct on the imprint. Watch a pre-publication trap the census does not mention: Hachette/P.O.L issued a 32-page stapled excerpt in printed wrappers — 'Chambres de bonne, 10', drawn from chapter 55 — dated 2 May 1978, ahead of the September book. It is an advance excerpt, not the first edition, yet the 2 May 1978 date attached to it circulates in catalogue data as though it were the novel's publication date. The first English edition is David Bellos's translation, published in 1987 by David R. Godine (Boston) and by Collins Harvill (London) in the same year. The census claim that the US 'generally precedes' is NOT confirmed: both are 1987 and no source consulted established the order. Both English issues are collected.