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Richard Brautigan
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The Abortion: An Historical Romance 1966 Hardcover – March 23, 1971

by Richard brautigan (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 56 ratings
NY 1971 Simon and Schuster. Hardcover. Taiwanese pirated edition. octavo. 226p. Fine in Near Fine dj (spine of dj faded to yellow.)
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  1. Print length
    226 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    March 23, 1971
  5. ISBN-10
    0671208721
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0671208721
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (March 23, 1971)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 226 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0671208721
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0671208721
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 56 ratings

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Richard Brautigan

Richard Brautigan

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
56 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Kimberly Townsend Palmer
    5.0 out of 5 stars very important book
    Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2023
    Verified Purchase
    tells a unique story, capturing a period in u.s. history when you had to go to mexico for an abortion, an era which we are, unfortunately, living in AGAIN.
    One person found this helpful
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  • REGINA CARSON
    5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
    Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2013
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    This was one of the easiest books to read. I finished it in no time. I bought it for a research paper, but actually really liked the book.
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  • Steve P
    4.0 out of 5 stars Memorable
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2015
    My favorite, most memorable Brautigan book. I've given away 2 copies because I liked it so much. Favorite chapter title - "My Three Abortions"
    One person found this helpful
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  • W. Aher
    5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for students and writers.
    Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A book that should be taught in every school. English/writing. A modern classic.
    One person found this helpful
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  • DH Koester
    5.0 out of 5 stars Paradise Lost
    Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2013
    Late sixties--early seventies--the counter-culture--hippies and flower children--a gentler society--the protest movement--the Vietnam war that galvanized us--feminism, civil rights, gay rights--bell bottom pants, long hair--Out with the old order, in with the new--freedom, love and brotherhood! We were going to change the world.

    For music, we had Dylan, Hendrix and CSN--The LA Free Press was our only news source--and our authors?? Well, Richard Brautigan was one--one of our spokesman. We shed the cold, analytic, sophisticated classics we'd been schooled in and turned to Brautigan for something simpler, something purer, something part reality-part fantasy that struck at the truth more directly, made us feel better, gave us hope--something that freed our souls--something whimsical--something bizzare, no thought or analysis required. His themes opened our minds to new possibilities, new ways of thinking about the world--much of it fantasy and unattainable but he made you feel like it was. His stories and his unique way of telling them was like a fresh gust of wind in our sails that propelled us further along our way in our quest for a better world--but it was not to be and sadly we couldn't change it--things only got worse--Brautigan left us--perhaps because he knew we'd failed. Now almost fifty years later both his books and the life he and we had envisioned are "out of print".

    Who could forget "Confederate General of Big Sur", "Watermellon Sugar", Trout Fishing in America" or most of all-- "The Abortion". Now that I am an author myself I see even more the genius of a library where only unpublished, unread books are kept--zealously guarded 24 hours a day by a custodian who considers them treasure--where people can come in and place their books on the shelf then sit for hours reading other unappreciated books. A library that has no set hours, never closes its doors and the custodian never leaves his post, open day and night should some poor soul want to bring their book there.

    I can still visualize, fifty years after having read "The Abortion", the fellow that periodically showed up at the library in an old pickup truck to transport the overflow books--to make room for more on the shelves--to some dark and dank cave outside of town. I can visualize and feel the kind of man that is the custodian--living in total isolation--having even his groceries brought to him from the outside as he desperately tries to write his own book that he hopes he can one day place on the librarys' shelves. I feel his joy when he finally finds female companionship--and love. And I experience their bittersweet trip to Mexico for the abortion.

    Now Brautigan is gone--hopes for a better world are gone--wars continue--women and little girls are brutalized around the globe--discrimination against those that are different and genocide continue--and on and on. The world of Brautigan and the hope of the sixties was but an illusion--and we can't even read his books-- because they're "out of print"!

    DH Koester--"And There I Was" And There I Was Volume VII: A Backpacking Adventure in Guatemala
    9 people found this helpful
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  • Bob Newman
    4.0 out of 5 stars Just a closer walk with thee
    Reviewed in the United States on April 19, 2005
    Somewhere out there maybe there's a library for all the books never published, by people who weren't authors, for readers who weren't interested. Maybe my reviews should be sent there ! Richard Brautigan imagined himself working in such a place, where the overflow was stored in caves (but what about seepage? Whoa, man, what a bummer !) He no doubt thought melancholy thoughts about how his own writings would wind up just in such a place. But as for me, that's the wrong tune. He captured so much about his times, about human nature, about life itself in those minimalist little chapters of his. THE ABORTION is more lineal than his other works-it has a plot that he sticks to, a plot that even got me feeling tense as with some kind of pop thriller. He meets a most beautiful girl who is disgusted with her own beauty, doesn't feel it becomes her true soul. She settles down with the author in his weird library, a place where he has been hiding away from the "real world" for three years. But one thing leads to another, and an abortion becomes necessary. Given the way our great nation is going, someday soon this book is going to be burned; read it while you can. The couple fly down to San Diego, cross over to Tijuana, and find the abortionist. What happens ? Meatball doesn't reveal endings. Sorry.

    The Brautigan humor, the whimsical observations plunked down in the middle of a totally different conversation. I like non-sequiturs. Perhaps enlightenment is found in such bouncing, scintillating simplicity. In any case, if you liked any others of Brautigan's work, you'll like this one for sure. Read the rest of them too. Richard Brautigan is gone. We will not see his like again, more's the pity.
    14 people found this helpful
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  • Eric Moebius Morlin
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is my third favorite brautigan book...
    Reviewed in the United States on May 17, 2012
    The way Brautigan uses language is so beautiful. It is whimsical at times, and others it is personal and you can feel a tremendous sense of grief. This book talks about an unusual setting, a library where people bring books that they wrote, and drop them off. It feels real in so many ways. I have always wondered if... maybe it wasn't a real place. The book, however, isn't just a flight of fancy. It deals with serious issues, and while you may agree or disagree or whatever. The point is, it has you thinking about, and exploring an issue you might not have otherwise. It is a powerful, yet subtle book.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Cliff Ingram
    5.0 out of 5 stars A classic
    Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    This is the one to read.
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  • leonidas achilleos
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 4, 2017
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    As described.
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  • KZ
    1.0 out of 5 stars So poorly written it's laughable
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I haven't got past 10 pages because it's so poorly written. Ordered it after hearing about it on This American Life, but it's so very badly written and he just talks about his girlfriend's tits all the time. Trash.
    One person found this helpful
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