{"product_id":"liquid-snakes-9781593767518","title":"Liquid Snakes","description":"\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the Libby Book Awards \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhat if toxic pollutants traveled up the socioeconomic ladder rather than down it? A Black biochemist provides an answer in this wildly original novel of pollution, poison, and dark pleasure \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn Atlanta, Kenny Bomar is a biochemist-turned-coffee-shop-owner in denial about his divorce and grieving his stillborn daughter. Chemicals killed their child, leaching from a type of plant the government is hiding in Black neighborhoods. Kenny's coping mechanisms are likewise chemical and becoming more baroque--from daily injections of lethal snake venom to manufacturing designer drugs. As his grief turns corrosive, it taints every person he touches. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBlack epidemiologists Retta and Ebonee are called to the scene when a mysterious black substance is found to have killed a high school girl. Investigating these \"blackouts\" sends the women down separate paths of blame and retribution as two seemingly disparate narratives converge in a cinematic conclusion. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eLiquid Snakes\u003c\/i\u003e is an immersive, white-knuckle ride with the spookiness of speculative fiction and the propulsion of binge-worthy shows like FX's \u003ci\u003eAtlanta \u003c\/i\u003eand HBO's \u003ci\u003eRandom Acts of Flyness\u003c\/i\u003e. Transfiguring a whodunit plot into a labyrinthine reinterpretation of a crime procedural, Stephen Kearse offers an uncanny commentary on an alternative world, poisoned.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStephen Kearse is an editor at \u003ci\u003eSpotlight PA\u003c\/i\u003e, and a contributing writer at \u003ci\u003eThe Nation\u003c\/i\u003e, where he covers music, movies, and books. His criticism and reporting have been published in \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGQ\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePitchfork\u003c\/i\u003e among other outlets. His debut novel, \u003ci\u003eIn the Heat of the Light\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 2019 by Brain Mill Press. Originally from Atlanta, he now lives in metro Washington, DC with his family.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Soft Skull","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50623049171218,"sku":"9781593767518","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6d88d38e-89af-4aa3-b58a-a4e8403833bc.jpg?v=1737269629","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/liquid-snakes-9781593767518","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}