{"product_id":"the-mare-9780307743602","title":"The Mare","description":"\u003cb\u003eOne of the Best Books of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e - NPR - \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003ci\u003eMilwaukee Journal Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e - \u003ci\u003eKansas City Star\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen Velveteen Vargas, an eleven-year-old Fresh Air Fund kid from Brooklyn, comes to stay with a family in upstate New York, what begins as a two-week visit blossoms into something much more significant. Soon Velvet finds herself torn between her host family--Ginger, a failed artist and shakily recovered alcoholic; and Paul, a college professor--and her own deeply tormented mother. The one constant becomes Velvet's newly discovered passion for horse riding--and especially for an abused, unruly mare named Fugly Girl. A stirring and deeply felt novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Mare\u003c\/i\u003e is Mary Gaitskill's most poignant and powerful work yet--a stunning exploration of a girl and her horse, and of the way we connect with people from all walks of life.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eMary Gaitskill is the author of the story collections \u003ci\u003eBad Behavior, Because They Wanted To\u003c\/i\u003e (nominated for a PEN\/Faulkner Award), and \u003ci\u003eDon't Cry, \u003c\/i\u003e and the novels \u003ci\u003eVeronica\u003c\/i\u003e (nominated for a National Book Award) and \u003ci\u003eTwo Girls, Fat and Thin\u003c\/i\u003e. She has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, and her work has appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Best American Short Stories, \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe O. Henry Prize Stories\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50410096918802,"sku":"9780307743602","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_f405a602-5b1e-4c7b-99e0-702884461e33.jpg?v=1729301626","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-mare-9780307743602","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}