{"product_id":"north-of-ordinary-9781954276321","title":"North of Ordinary","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe long-awaited return of a quintessentially American storyteller\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"You're as likely to be hit twice by lightning on a Monday as see a wood chipper pull a man into its maw.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSo begins \u003ci\u003eNorth of Ordinary\u003c\/i\u003e, John Rolfe Gardner's virtuosic story collection of survivors getting by despite the odds in a shifting world. In these pages, we meet a nervous young apprentice to a weathered tree climber; a dangerously obsessed student at a Southern Bible college; an attractive schemer trying to build an audience for her tiny radio station; an undercover, cross-dressing lawman whose friendship changes the life of a deaf child in a suburban cul-de-sac; and an elderly Black mason whose knowledge of the town's history harbors truths that shake his visitor's foundation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSurprising, touching, and deeply humane, the ten stories of \u003ci\u003eNorth of Ordinary\u003c\/i\u003e offer an intimate, revelatory look at our fractured society and pull us together through the power of art.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Rolfe Gardiner\u003c\/b\u003e was born in New York and grew up in the Washington, D.C. suburbs of Northern Virginia during World War II. Recipient of a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Writers Award and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, he is the author of six novels and four collections of short fiction, including \u003ci\u003eNorth of Ordinary\u003c\/i\u003e. His stories have appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eAmerican Scholar\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOxford American\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eOne Story\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePushcart Prize\u003c\/i\u003e anthology, \u003ci\u003ePEN\/O. Henry Prize Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBest American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, and elsewhere. Gardiner lives in Middleburg, Virginia, with his wife, ceramic artist Joan Gardiner.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bellevue Literary Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51186257854738,"sku":"9781954276321","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_7425253a-c6e4-4681-ab7f-6361e23b0947.jpg?v=1744618746","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/north-of-ordinary-9781954276321","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}