{"product_id":"the-lepers-companions-9780679758389","title":"The Leper's Companions","description":"In this fascinatingly imaginative novel, Julia Blackburn has decimated all the rules, creating a magical tale that is part fable, part allegory, part present, part past, and wholly genuine and poetic. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe unnamed protagonist has recently lost someone she loved, and her solution is to abandon the present, and the overwhelming pain. The seamless narrative lands her in a medieval seaside village where mermaids wash ashore, devils haunt in packs, a child is born with the head of a fish, and where one day, quite out of nowhere, there emerges a sage and wandering leper. The leper leads a small group of the villagers, including the protagonist, on a journey to Jerusalem, a harrowing pilgrimage that compels all the travelers to confront their deepest selves. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExquisite and lyrical, \u003cb\u003eThe Lepers Companions\u003c\/b\u003e is a heart-rending tale by one of our most fiercely original storytellers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJulia Blackburn is the author of three books of nonfiction, \u003cb\u003eCharles Waterton, The Emperor's Last Island\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003cb\u003eDaisy Bates in the Desert\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003eand of two novels, \u003cb\u003eThe Book of Color\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003cb\u003eThe Leper's Companions\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e, \u003c\/i\u003eboth of which were shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She lives in England.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50844905996562,"sku":"9780679758389","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_dbb723a1-37ad-4d67-b7db-1f8d854d07b4.jpg?v=1737336269","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-lepers-companions-9780679758389","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}