{"product_id":"the-bobcat-9781950691487","title":"The Bobcat","description":"\u003cb\u003e** Longlisted for The Center for Fiction's best debut novel of 2019 ** \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e With the hypnotic intensity of Emily Fridlund's \u003ci\u003eThe History of Wolves\u003c\/i\u003e and Fiona McFarlane's \u003ci\u003eThe Night Guest\u003c\/i\u003e, Katherine Forbes Riley has created a mesmerizing love story, in lush, gorgeous prose, that examines art, science, and the magic of human chemistry. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Teeming with lush imagery and mystical settings, and brimming with alluring magical realism, Riley's tale is a beguiling journey of discovery and recovery.\"\u003c\/b\u003e -- Booklist\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHaunting and lyrical, \u003ci\u003eThe Bobcat\u003c\/i\u003e is Katherine Forbes Riley's magical debut novel in which Laurelie, a young art student who suffers in the aftermath of a sexual assault, has grown progressively more isolated and fearful. She transfers from her busy city university to a small college in rural Vermont, where she retreats into her vivid imagination, experiencing the world through her art. Most comfortable in the company of the child for whom she babysits, and most at ease in the woods, Laurelie has shunned any connection with her peers. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne day, while exploring the woods, she and her young charge encounter an injured pregnant bobcat - and the hiker who has been following it for hundreds of miles. In the hiker and his feline companion Laurelie recognizes someone as reclusive and wary as herself. The hiker, too, finds human companionship painful to endure, yet he is drawn to wounded Laurelie the way he is drawn to the bobcat. As Laurelie moves toward recovery and reconnection she also finds her voice as an artist, and a sense of purpose, maybe even a future, comes into sight. Then the child goes missing in the woods, threatening the bobcat, the hiker, and the fragile peace Laurelie has constructed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKatherine Forbes Riley\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer and computational linguist. She received her BA from Dartmouth College and her doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania. Her language research has been published in scientific journals such as\u003ci\u003e Speech Communication \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eComputer Speech and Language\u003c\/i\u003e. Her creative writing appears in many literary venues, including \u003ci\u003eWigleaf\u003c\/i\u003e's Top 50 list, and was awarded the \u003ci\u003eBuffalo Almanack\u003c\/i\u003e Inkslinger's Award for Creative Excellence. \u003ci\u003eThe Bobcat\u003c\/i\u003e, her first novel, was longlisted for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. She lives in Vermont with her husband and two children and can be found online at www.katherineforbesriley.com.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Arcade Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50525308256530,"sku":"9781950691487","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5db274c4-495b-477a-bd82-4b666bf4c5dc.jpg?v=1731213668","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-bobcat-9781950691487","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}