{"product_id":"the-heaven-of-mercury-9780393324655","title":"The Heaven of Mercury","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrad Watson's first novel was eagerly awaited after his breathtaking, award-winning debut collection of short stories, \u003cem\u003eLast Days of the Dog-Men\u003c\/em\u003e. In \u003cem\u003eThe Heaven of Mercury\u003c\/em\u003e, Watson fulfills that literary promise with a humorous and jaundiced eye. Finus Bates has loved Birdie Wells since the day he saw her do a naked cartwheel in the woods in 1916. Later he won her at poker, lost her, then nearly won her again after the mysterious poisoning of her womanizing husband. Does Vish, the old medicine woman down in the ravine, hold the key to Birdie's elusive character? Or does Parnell, the town undertaker, whose unspeakable desires bring lust for life and death together? Or does the secret lie with some other colorful old-timer in Mercury, Mississippi, not such a small town anymore? With \"graceful, patient, insightful and hilarious\" prose (\u003cem\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/em\u003e), Brad Watson chronicles Finus's steadfast devotion and Mercury's evolution from a sleepy backwater to a small city.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWatson, Brad:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eBrad Watson\u003c\/strong\u003e (1955--2020) taught creative writing at the University of Wyoming, Laramie. His first collection, \u003cem\u003eLast Days of the Dog-Men\u003c\/em\u003e, won the Sue Kauffman Award for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts \u0026amp; Letters; his first novel, \u003cem\u003eThe Heaven of Mercury\u003c\/em\u003e, was a finalist for the National Book Award, and his \u003cem\u003eAliens in the Prime of Their Lives\u003c\/em\u003e was a finalist for the PEN\/Faulkner Award for Fiction.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50514109333778,"sku":"9780393324655","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5cdcb2cb-6d2b-403f-a966-c183d80171b2.jpg?v=1730973399","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-heaven-of-mercury-9780393324655","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}