{"product_id":"9780676978377","title":"Bang Crunch","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn audacious New Face of Fiction debut: nine riveting stories that announce a major  writer in the tradition of Yann Martel and Barbara Gowdy.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Unexpected humour and  tenderness intertwine with loneliness and hopefulness in this remarkable book from  an already acclaimed writer. In nine richly varied stories, written in intense, clear-eyed  prose, the reader is led into an exploration of the human need for connection, however  tenuous or absurd, and at whatever cost. The stories operate with heartbreaking precision,  drawing us past the surface of characters’ lives and into the moments of decision  and recognition that shape these people irrevocably.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Here are stories striking in  the range of their shifting tone and the reach of their subjects. We are introduced  to a support group for people who suspect their benign nature has caused benign tumours  to grow inside them. The title story zeroes in on a girl with Fred Hoyle syndrome  whose age expands and contracts like the universe. A recently widowed woman talks  to her husband’s ashes, which are entombed in a hollowed-out curling stone. A store  detective’s valiant act to save a pair of pink calfskin gloves is entwined with the  unfortunate results of an unsuccessful space mission.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Rendering grief, loneliness,  hope, love and happiness with exquisite subtlety and intelligence, Neil Smith proves  himself an able chronicler of the human condition. \u003ci\u003eBang Crunch\u003c\/i\u003e constitutes a significant  achievement by a powerful writer.","brand":"Neil Smith (CA)","offers":[{"title":"Paperback \/ softback Trade paperback (US)","offer_id":48035577168084,"sku":"9780676978377","price":23.0,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1000\/9208\/files\/BNCImageAPI_0a383e0f-520a-42f4-9f6f-24b290cffa4d.jpg?v=1780357689","url":"https:\/\/penguinshop.ca\/products\/9780676978377","provider":"Penguin Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}