{"product_id":"mecca-9781250863072","title":"Mecca","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A wide and deep view of a dynamic, multiethnic Southern California . . . Susan Straight is an essential voice in American writing and in writing of the West.\" --\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNamed a most anticipated book of March 2022 by the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times, USA Today, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eAlta\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the National Book Award finalist Susan Straight, \u003ci\u003eMecca\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning epic tracing the intertwined lives of native Californians fighting for life and land \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJohnny Frías has California in his blood. A descendant of the state's indigenous people and Mexican settlers, he has Southern California's forgotten towns and canyons in his soul. He spends his days as a highway patrolman pulling over speeders, ignoring their racist insults, and pushing past the trauma of his rookie year, when he killed a man assaulting a young woman named Bunny, who ran from the scene, leaving Johnny without a witness. But like the Santa Ana winds that every year bring the risk of fire, Johnny's moment of action twenty years ago sparked a slow-burning chain of connections that unites a vibrant, complex cast of characters in ways they never see coming. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003eMecca\u003c\/i\u003e, the celebrated novelist Susan Straight crafts an unforgettable American epic, examining race, history, family, and destiny through the interlocking stories of a group of native Californians all gasping for air. With sensitivity, furor, and a cinematic scope that captures California in all its injustice, history, and glory, she tells a story of the American West through the eyes of the people who built it--and continue to sustain it. As the stakes get higher and the intertwined characters in \u003ci\u003eMecca \u003c\/i\u003eslam against barrier after barrier, they find that when push comes to shove, it's always better to push back.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSusan Straight\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of eight novels, including the national bestseller \u003ci\u003eHighwire Moon\u003c\/i\u003e, a finalist for the National Book Award, as well as the memoir \u003ci\u003eIn the Country of Women\u003c\/i\u003e, named a best book of 2019 by NPR. Her stories and essays have been published in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGranta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarper's Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, and other publications. She lives with her family in Riverside, California, where she is a Distinguished Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Picador USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50606412136722,"sku":"9781250863072","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_a06e2204-17b4-406d-9e93-bb3f937e1260.jpg?v=1759225988","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/mecca-9781250863072","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}