{"product_id":"the-black-brook-9780802123060","title":"The Black Brook","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA small-time art forger runs afoul of the New England mob in this comic crime novel from the author of \u003ci\u003eThe End of Vandalism\u003c\/i\u003e: \"One of our living masters\" (\u003ci\u003eMcSweeney's\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul Emmons has his faults-envy, lust, naivetéeacute;, money laundering, and art forgery to name a few. A fallen accountant and scamster, Emmons and his wife, Mary, are exiled abroad, though they enjoy inadvisable returns to New England to check on the property they own but cannot claim.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaul's unfortunate association with Carlo Record, president of the fraudulent company New England Amusements, was always destined to get him into trouble. When Carlo and his cronies--Ashtray Bob, Line-Item Vito, and Hatpin Henry--try to coerce Paul into stealing the John Singer Sargent painting \"The Black Brook\" from the Tate gallery in London, Paul and Mary hatch a plan to trick the tricksters . . .\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough it all, Paul searches for his true mission in life in this \"irresistibly droll portrayal of an All-American liar, loser, and innocent\" (\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis Grove edition features a new introduction in the form of a conversation between Drury and Daniel Handler.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTom Drury\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003ePacific\u003c\/i\u003e, longlisted for the National Book Award; \u003ci\u003eThe End of Vandalism\u003c\/i\u003e; \u003ci\u003eHunts in Dreams\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eThe Driftless Area\u003c\/i\u003e. His fiction has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHarper's\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Mississippi Review\u003c\/i\u003e, and he has been named one of \u003ci\u003eGranta's\u003c\/i\u003e \"Best Young American Novelists.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Grove Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51778538078482,"sku":"9780802123060","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c2f8042f-6375-4254-b919-7ff627ff9b08.jpg?v=1765364593","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-black-brook-9780802123060","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}