{"product_id":"perish-9780593185926","title":"Perish","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A brave triumph of a novel that readers won't forget long after finishing it.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eNamed a Most Anticipated Book of the Year by \u003ci\u003eGood Morning America * Essence* Esquire * The Root * Bustle * Ebony * PopSugar * Ms. * The Millions\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFinalist for the Reading the West Book Award \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eLonglisted for the 2023 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eBear it or perish yourself\u003c\/i\u003e. Those are the words Helen Jean hears that fateful night in her cousin's outhouse that change the trajectory of her life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Spanning decades, \u003ci\u003ePerish\u003c\/i\u003e tracks the choices Helen Jean--the matriarch of the Turner family--makes and the way those choices have rippled across generations. We meet four members of the Black Texan family: Julie B., a woman who regrets her wasted youth and the time spent under Helen Jean's thumb; Alex, a police officer grappling with a dark and twisted past; Jan, a mother of two who yearns to go to school and leave Jerusalem, Texas, behind for good; and Lydia, a woman whose marriage is falling apart because her body can't seem to stay pregnant. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Called home to say goodbye to their mother and grandmother, each family member is forced to confront long-kept secrets and ask themselves important questions about who is deserving of forgiveness and who bears the cross of blame. Set in vividly drawn Texas, this beautiful yet heart-wrenching novel explores the intricacies of family and the ways bonds can be made, maintained, or irrevocably broken.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"This novel will serve as a hand extended through the darkness to a great many of its readers.\"\u003ci\u003e--Star Tribune \u003c\/i\u003e(Minneapolis)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Like Walker's \u003ci\u003eThe Color Purple \u003c\/i\u003eand Toni Morrison's \u003ci\u003eThe Bluest Eye, Perish \u003c\/i\u003elures readers past the pain with a spellbinding, buoyant use of language.\"--\u003ci\u003eTexas Monthly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Miraculous and moving, light glimmers at the edges of this wise novel.\"\u003ci\u003e--Esquire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaToya Watkins\u003c\/b\u003e's writing has appeared in \u003ci\u003eA Public Space\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Sun \u003c\/i\u003emagazine, \u003ci\u003eMcSweeney's\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Kenyon Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Pushcart Prize XXXIX\u003c\/i\u003e (2015), and elsewhere. She has received grants, scholarships, and fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, Hedgebrook, and A Public Space (she was one of their 2018 emerging writers fellows). She holds a PhD from the University of Texas at Dallas. \u003ci\u003ePerish\u003c\/i\u003e is her debut novel.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50645253062930,"sku":"9780593185926","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_244efa94-c835-43b7-8637-489dea96205e.jpg?v=1733145541","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/perish-9780593185926","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}