{"product_id":"talent-9780316480567","title":"Talent","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"A clever and delightfully complicated debut...Each bend in this story raises more questions than are answered, in the best of ways and right to the end.\"--\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAny student of narrative would agree that Anna Brisker, former star of the English department, should be on the brink of a brilliant academic career. But at twenty-nine, Anna is aimless, indolent, nearing the eighth year of her PhD and unable to finish her dissertation, an intellectual history of inspiration. (No, the irony is not lost on her.) \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnna encounters a potential solution to her stasis in the form of Helen Langley, a magnetic, free-spirited woman who's the niece of the late, legendary writer Frederick Langley. Having published three classics in his youth, Freddy fell silent, and the literary world assumed he never wrote again. But Helen confides to Anna that he kept secret notebooks in his later years, notebooks that Helen might be willing to show Anna. As her fascination with Freddy (and Helen) blooms into obsession, Anna finds herself falling prey to fatal misreadings - of herself and others. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA sly and playful unpacking of the cult of the artist that excoriates academia with devilish glee, \u003ci\u003eTalent\u003c\/i\u003e brings the pressures of the 21st century to bear on the classic campus novel, weaving a twisty, brainy, wickedly hilarious story about our desperate need to believe that we understand...anything. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of the Most Anticipated Books of the Year -- LitHub, \u003ci\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/i\u003e, Thrillist, \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJuliet Lapidos \u003c\/b\u003eis a senior editor at the \u003ci\u003eAtlantic\u003c\/i\u003e. Previously she worked at the \u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e. She received her B.A. in Comparative Literature from Yale University and her MPhil in English Literature from Cambridge University, which she attended on a Gates Scholarship.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Back Bay Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50844347891986,"sku":"9780316480567","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_33009ec1-992c-448a-81bf-5542501b185f.jpg?v=1737317588","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/talent-9780316480567","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}