The Favourite Game
1963
Buy The Favourite Game by Leonard Cohen. First UK edition first impression from 1963 in near fine condition, no internal markings, pages clean, binding firm, the jacket has been price clipped, there is some minor scuffing and wear to extremities, now in removable protective sleeve.
The Favourite Game
Cohen's first novel is a heavily autobiographical "portrait of the artist as a young man" growing up in Montreal. Much of the novel is very sympathetic to the protagonist, Breavman, presenting his perceptions of the world in virtuoso passages of romantic writing; yet there is also a strong element of irony, which stands back from Breavman and offers a severe judgment on the limitations of his human relations (especially to women). In the end, the indulgence wins out over the irony, but it's a close call.