{"product_id":"the-dwarf-9780374521356","title":"The Dwarf","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"I have noticed that sometimes I frighten people; what they really fear is themselves. They think it is I who scare them, but it is the dwarf within them, the ape-faced manlike being who sticks up his head from the depths of their souls.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePär Lagerkvist's richly philosophical novel \u003ci\u003eThe Dwarf\u003c\/i\u003e is an exploration of individual and social identity. The novel, set in a time when Italian towns feuded over the outcome of the last feud, centers on a social outcast, the court dwarf PIccoline. From his special vantage point Piccoline comments on the court's prurience and on political intrigue as the town is gripped by a siege. Gradually, Piccoline is drawn deeper and deeper into the conflict, and he inspires fear and hate around him as he grows to represent the fascination of the masses with violence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePär \u003c\/b\u003eLagerkvist, playwright, poet, essayist, and novelist, received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1951. \u003ci\u003eThe Dwarf\u003c\/i\u003e, long considered a masterpiece of modern literature, was first published in 1945. Mr. Lagerkvist died in Sweden in 1974.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hill \u0026 Wang","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50526981390610,"sku":"9780374521356","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f37815a6-19c1-41f5-916b-9045c33774ec.jpg?v=1731288823","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-dwarf-9780374521356","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}