{"title":"Books by Elizabeth McCracken","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781529115086","title":"The Souvenir Museum","description":"\u003cp\u003e'One of my favourite writers' Nick Hornby\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of the most acclaimed writers of our day, award-winning author Elizabeth McCracken is an undisputed virtuoso of the short story, and this new collection features her most vibrant and heartrending work to date.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA recent widower and his adult son ferry to a craggy Scottish island in search of puffins. An actress who plays a children's game-show villainess ushers in the New Year with her deadbeat half-brother. And on a trip to a water park with their son, two fathers each confront a deep-rooted personal fear. With sentences that crackle and spark and showcase her trademark wit, McCracken shows how the mysterious bonds of family are tested, transformed, fractured, and fortified.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'McCracken has a gift for spotting the comic potential in situations many of us have endured... Her prose is stippled with just-so observations' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'McCracken is a totally assured performer: even seemingly throwaway perceptions are often memorably poetic, and there is a hint of melancholy under the comedy' \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'This incisive, warm-blooded collection of stories is populated by outsiders... McCracken illuminates qualities of human nature through fragments of her characters' lives' \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43128663441586,"sku":"9781529115086","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529115086_d61b7cb8-e61b-45f2-be47-95844e07e0e8.jpg?v=1786021637"},{"product_id":"9780099526940","title":"Bowlaway","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘A big, glorious novel in every sense, this sprawling family saga…is a funny and big-hearted epic from a seriously gifted wordsmith’\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMarie Claire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRead the sweeping and enchanting new novel from the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Giant’s House\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eBertha is an enigma to everyone in Salford, Massachusetts – ever since she was discovered unconscious in a New England cemetery with nothing but a bowling ball, a candlepin and fifteen pounds of gold on her person. She has no past to speak of, and her mysterious origin scandalises the townspeople, as does her choice to marry and start a family with Leviticus Sprague, the doctor who revived her. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut Bertha is plucky and entrepreneurial, and the bowling alley she opens quickly becomes Salford’s most defining landmark. As she changes the town forever, her singular spirit resonating through every board and brick and bone, an epic family saga unfolds, set against the backdrop of twentieth-century America.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":56223760384373,"sku":"9780099526940","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":57688204312949,"sku":"9780224087117","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099526940.jpg?v=1792686128"},{"product_id":"9780099592976","title":"Thunderstruck \u0026 Other Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the author of the beloved novel \u003ci\u003eThe Giant's House\u003c\/i\u003e - finalist for the National Book Award - comes a beautiful new story collection, her first in twenty years. Laced through with humour, empathy, and rare and magical descriptive powers these nine vibrant stories navigate the fragile space between love and loneliness. In 'Property', a young scholar, grieving the sudden death of his wife, decides to refurbish the Maine rental house they were to share together by removing his landlord's possessions. In 'Peter Elroy: A Documentary by Ian Casey', the household of a successful filmmaker is visited years later by his famous first subject, whose trust he betrayed. And in the unforgettable title story, a family makes a quixotic decision to flee to Paris for a summer, only to find their lives altered in an unimaginable way by their teenage daughter's risky behaviour.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn Elizabeth McCracken's universe, heartache is always interwoven with strange, charmed moments of joy - an unexpected conversation with small children, the gift of a parrot with a bad French accent - that remind us of the wonder and mystery of being alive. \u003ci\u003eThunderstruck \u0026amp; Other Stories\u003c\/i\u003e shows this inimitable writer working at the full height of her powers.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56223768215925,"sku":"9780099592976","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099592976_83998ff3-ef5c-4fb1-8291-979c176f331a.jpg?v=1786011600"},{"product_id":"9780099739913","title":"The Giant's House","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Every so often a novel comes along which transcends whimsy with the beauty of its writing. Elizabeth McCracken's small masterpiece is one of these' \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA powerful and unique story about connection, showing that miracles can happen – even across a library circulation desk.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe year is 1950, and in a small town on Cape Cod twenty-eight year old librarian Peggy Cort feels as if love and life have stood her up. That is, until the day James Carlson Sweatt – the 'over-tall' eleven year old boy who's the talk of the town – walks into her library and changes her life for ever. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTwo misfits whose lonely paths cross at the circulation desk, Peggy and James are odd candidates for friendship. In James, Peggy discovers the one person who's ever really understood her, and as he grows – six foot five at age twelve, then seven foot, then eight – so does their most singular romance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e                                                                                                                                                                               *Perfect for readers who loved \u003ci\u003eEleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine\u003c\/i\u003e*\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56224327663989,"sku":"9780099739913","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780099739913_9591899e-a727-49d1-ae9a-ae3878bbe801.jpg?v=1786011807"},{"product_id":"9781529919653","title":"The Hero of this Book","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘A sublime gift’ MEG MASON\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA taut, ground-breaking new novel about a writer's relationship with her larger-than-life mother - and about the very nature of writing.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTen months after her mother’s death, the narrator of \u003ci\u003eThe Hero of This Book\u003c\/i\u003e walks across London on a quiet Sunday. The city was a favourite of her mother’s, and as the narrator wanders the streets, she finds herself recalling all that made her complicated mother extraordinary. Even though the woman, a writer, wants to respect her mother’s nearly pathological sense of privacy, she must decide whether making a chronicle of this remarkable life constitutes an act of love or betrayal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e* A \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e and NPR Book of the Year *\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘I absolutely loved it. A moving portrayal of daughterhood…suffused with warmth and love’\u003c\/b\u003e MEGAN HUNTER, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Harpy\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Confirms McCracken as among the finest contemporary chroniclers of everyday life… wonderful’\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eGUARDIAN\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e‘Tender, funny, heartbreaking… a writer who always delights’\u003c\/b\u003e RUMAAN ALAM, author of \u003ci\u003eLeave the World Behind\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312596463989,"sku":"9781529919653","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781529919653_65251826-db86-46e5-8225-540e3d10327d.jpg?v=1786023361"},{"product_id":"9781787336025","title":"A Long Game","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA writing life, I’ve come to believe, is a years-long process of casting away everything you once believed for sure.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElizabeth McCracken has been writing for most of her life: bestselling novels, critically acclaimed short story collections, and unstinting memoirs. For over three decades, she has also taught creative writing to generations of students. In \u003ci\u003eA Long Game\u003c\/i\u003e, she shares all she has learned along the way, deconstructing received wisdom about fiction whilst playfully tackling the mysteries that are inherent to writing and creativity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWriting, she suggests, is about being in it for the long haul: not just about polishing prose, but how paying attention to language, character, and plot widens one’s understanding of the world. Both an insight into the life of a working artist and an indispensable resource for writers, \u003ci\u003eA Long Game\u003c\/i\u003e is a future classic: a delightful, intelligent account of what it means to write and live a creative life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eHow reassuring it is to have writers like Elizabeth McCracken among us' Yiyun Li\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Elizabeth McCracken is one of America's finest writers' Garth Greenwell\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369161994613,"sku":"9781787336025","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781787336025_e1d825c7-3c5b-40fb-9474-a9dd9fc6994c.jpg?v=1786025888"},{"product_id":"long-game","title":"Long Game","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom bestselling and award-winning author and professor Elizabeth McCracken comes an irresistible look at the art of writing.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWriting can feel like an endless series of decisions. How does one face the blank page? Move a character around a room? Deal with time? Undertake revision? The good and bad news is that in fiction writing, there are no definitive answers to such questions: writers must come up with their own. Elizabeth McCracken, author of bestselling novels, National Book Award long-listed story collections, and a highly praised memoir, has been teaching for more than thirty-five years, guiding her many students through their own answers.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eA Long Game\u003c\/i\u003e, she shares insights gleaned along the way, offering practical tips and incisive thoughts about her own work as an artist. The book covers:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnderstanding and developing characters\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlot, and what to do if it eludes you\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHer thoughts on common writing ';rules'\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnd of course, the Butter Cow Lady of the Iowa State Fair and her work as it relates to revision\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWriting ';is a long game,' she notes. ';What matters is that you learn to get work done in the way that is possible for you, through consistency or panic. Through self-recrimination or self-delusion or self-forgiveness: every life needs all three.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs much a book about the life of a working artist as it is a guide to thinking about fiction, \u003ci\u003eA Long Game\u003c\/i\u003e is a revelatory and indispensable resource for any writer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57495460020597,"sku":"9780063375307","price":17.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]},{"product_id":"seven-stories-about-tammy","title":"Seven Stories About Tammy","description":"\"Seven Stories About Tammy by Elizabeth McCracken, paints a portrait of a complicated family with the concision of a short story and the depth of a novel, and makes it look easy.\"—Celeste NgMorris Harkin brings his new girlfriend Tammy to meet his family. She is not at all who they expected. But who, really, is Tammy? Across seven vignettes, in Elizabeth McCracken's witty and tender fashion, we see Tammy through the eyes of the Harkin family throughout the years, and a picture of an insecure and unhappy family emerges.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507783147893,"sku":"9781771967594","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781771967594.jpg?v=1787042923"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-elizabeth-mccracken.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}