{"product_id":"a-nearby-country-called-love-9780593653920","title":"A Nearby Country Called Love","description":"\u003cb\u003eA sweeping, propulsive novel about the families we are born into and the families we make for ourselves, in which a man struggles to find his place in an Iran on the brink of combusting\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAmid the alleyways of the Zamzam neighborhood of Tehran, a woman lights herself on fire in a desperate act of defiance, setting off a chain reaction of violence and protest. Haunted by the woman's death, Issa is forced to confront the contradictions of his own family history, throughout which his late brother Hashem, a prominent queer artist in Tehran's underground, had defied their father, a skilled martial artist bound to traditional notions of honor and masculinity. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIssa soon finds himself thrown into a circle of people living on the margins of society, negotiating a razor-like code of conduct that rewards loyalty and encourages aggression and intolerance in equal measure. As the city explodes around him, Issa realizes that it is the little acts of kindness that matter most, the everyday humanity of individuals finding love and doing right by one another. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eVibrant and evocative, intimate and intelligent, \u003ci\u003eA Nearby Country Called Love \u003c\/i\u003eis both a captivating window into contemporary Iran and a portrait of the parallel fates of a man and his country--a man who acknowledges the sullen and rumbling baggage of history but then chooses to step past its violent inheritance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSalar Abdoh \u003c\/b\u003ewas born in Iran and splits his time between Tehran and New York City. He is the author of the novels \u003ci\u003eTehran at Twilight\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Poet Game\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOpium\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eOut of Mesopotamia\u003c\/i\u003e and the editor of \u003ci\u003eTehran Noir\u003c\/i\u003e. He teaches in the MFA program at the City College of New York.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50899911704850,"sku":"9780593653920","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a06be77f-8817-4828-b7cd-69973f9cc3b9.jpg?v=1744279638","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/a-nearby-country-called-love-9780593653920","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}