{"product_id":"separate-kingdoms-stories-9780060840945","title":"Separate Kingdoms: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A work of daunting versatility and technical skill, the product of a writer absolutely at home in the language and working vigorously within both new and old forms.\" --Michael Byers, author of \u003cem\u003eLong for this World \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eThe Coast of Good Intentions\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom Pushcart Prize-winner Valerie Laken, author of \u003cem\u003eDream House\u003c\/em\u003e, comes a riveting short story collection charting the divisions and collisions between cultures and nations, families and lovers, selves and others in the United States and Russia. In the tradition of Lydia Peelle, Barbara Johnson, and David Mitchell, Laken creates incisive and illuminating portraits of characters coping with loss, estrangement, and disability, confined by their circumstances to separate kingdoms of the heart. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLaken, Valerie:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eValerie Laken teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her first novel, \u003cem\u003eDream House\u003c\/em\u003e, was named of one \u003cem\u003eBooklist\u003c\/em\u003e's Top Ten First Novels and \u003cem\u003eKirkus Review\u003c\/em\u003e's Best Books of 2009.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50523378581778,"sku":"9780060840945","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_32d7b3c4-bde7-425a-8e6e-0dd6156b0a40.jpg?v=1731146158","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/separate-kingdoms-stories-9780060840945","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}