{"product_id":"the-empire-of-dirt-9780393881776","title":"The Empire of Dirt","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere has always been tension in \"the blind house,\" where Valentina lives with her mother and grandmother in the Italian countryside. Valentina's pious grandmother often hints at a family curse, while Valentina's mother scoffs at superstition; it's one of the battlegrounds on which they fight to control Valentina's upbringing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut in the summer of 1996, when Valentina is twelve, she gets her period for the first time--and the curse suddenly becomes frighteningly real. Blood leaks from the walls; the house and farm are overrun with frogs; the kitchen crawls with flies. Valentina is certain that she has brought catastrophe to her house and its inhabitants.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this propulsive coming-of-age novel, of mother-daughter relationships and painful family legacies, Valentina is forever changed by the events of one terrifying summer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eManfredi, Francesca:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eFrancesca Manfredi\u003c\/b\u003e is a graduate of the creative writing school Scuola Holden, founded by Alessandro Baricco. Her debut short story collection, \u003cem\u003eUn Buon Posto Dove Stare\u003c\/em\u003e (\u003cem\u003eA Place to Stay In\u003c\/em\u003e), won Italy's Premio Campiello Opera Prima. She lives in Turin, Italy.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eOklap, Ekin:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cb\u003eEkin Oklap\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Turkey, and grew up in Italy. She translates from Turkish and Italian, and currently lives in London. As a translator, she was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker International Prize.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50383218671890,"sku":"9780393881776","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_33fb4bdb-70b8-4b8e-84df-d20ed13a8f76.jpg?v=1728781056","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-empire-of-dirt-9780393881776","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}