{"title":"Books by Joan Silber","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781838956639","title":"Ideas of Heaven","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSet in modern-day America and France, Renaissance Italy and Boxer Rebellion China, these stories embrace whole lifetimes, much in the manner of Alice Munro and William Trevor. Joan Silber skilfully and subtly ties one story to the next, as a minor element in one becomes a major element in the next, until the last is tied convincingly to the first. Intense in subject yet restrained in tone, they are about longings - often held for years - and the ways in which sex and religion can become parallel forms of dedication and comfort. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom a wannabe dancer in contemporary New York City to missionaries in China, \u003ci\u003eIdeas of Heaven \u003c\/i\u003eshowcases Joan Silber's extraordinary deftness as she illuminates love, faith and sex with great originality and profundity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43205800886450,"sku":"9781838956639","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838956639_7a6cdccf-5837-4649-aeb9-c63b82b8b838.jpg?v=1786028415"},{"product_id":"9781838956615","title":"Fools","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen is it wise to be a fool for something? From New York to India to Paris, from the Catholic Worker movement to Occupy Wall Street, the characters in Joan Silber's dazzling connected stories tackle this question head-on.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eVera, the shy, anarchist daughter of missionary parents, leaves her family for love and activism in New York. A generation later, her doubting daughter insists on the truth of being of two minds, even in marriage. The adulterous son of a Florida hotel owner steals money from his family and departs for Paris, where he finds himself outsmarted in turn. \u003ci\u003eFools\u003c\/i\u003e ponders the circle of winners and losers, dupers and duped, and the price we pay for our beliefs, offering readers an unforgettable look at work, faith, love and the eternal quest for personal integrity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307939869045,"sku":"9781838956615","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838956615_7b6dceee-e3ce-4074-8133-eebe1c309e25.jpg?v=1786028413"},{"product_id":"9781911630074","title":"Improvement","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003ci\u003eImprovement\u003c\/i\u003e is a major work of literature.'\u003c\/b\u003e - Nick Hornby, \u003ci\u003eThe Believer\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReyna knows her relationship with Boyd isn't perfect, yet as she visits him throughout his three-month stint in prison, their bond grows tighter. Kiki, now settled in New York after a journey that took her to Turkey and around the world, admires her niece's spirit but worries that she always picks the wrong man. Little does she know that the otherwise honourable Boyd is pulling Reyna into a scheme which violates his probation. When Reyna ultimately decides to remove herself for the sake of her four-year-old child, her small act of resistance sets into motion a tapestry of events that affect the lives of loved ones and strangers around them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA novel that examines conviction, connection and the possibility of generosity in the face of loss, \u003ci\u003eImprovement\u003c\/i\u003e is as intricately woven together as Kiki's beloved Turkish rugs and as colourful as the tattoos decorating Reyna's body, with narrative twists and turns as surprising and unexpected as the lives all around us. The \u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e says of Joan Silber 'No other writer can make a few small decisions ripple across the globe, and across time, with more subtlety and power.' \u003ci\u003eImprovement\u003c\/i\u003e is Silber's most shining achievement yet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56308991197557,"sku":"9781911630074","price":8.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781911630074_492249b7-20e9-4680-9229-e5ffaf483c6c.jpg?v=1786029622"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-joan-silber.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}