{"product_id":"the-refugee-ocean-9781668007433","title":"The Refugee Ocean","description":"\u003cb\u003eTwo refugees find that their lives are inextricably linked--over time and distance--by the perils of history and a single haunting piece of music.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBorn in Beirut in 1922, Marguerite Toutoungi lives a life of loss and sacrifice. She dreams of traveling to Europe and studying music at the Conservatoire de Paris but her family--and her society--hold her back. When she meets the son of a Cuban tobacco farmer at a formal dance, love transforms her life. Together with him, she flees across the Atlantic Ocean. She's hoping for a new beginning. Instead, she finds revolution and chaos. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOver fifty years later, Na?m Rahil is a teenage refugee from Aleppo, Syria. A former piano prodigy who struggles to thrive in America--and who has lost part of his hand in the war--he dreams of a simple, normal life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eMoving from Aleppo on the brink of civil war, to Lebanon in the late 1940s, to Havana during the Cuban Revolution, to the suburbs of Washington, DC, \u003ci\u003eThe Refugee Ocean\u003c\/i\u003e grapples with what it means to be an immigrant, shows how wounds can heal, and highlights the role of music and art in the resilience of the human spirit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePaul Toutonghi's parents were both refugees to the United States. He has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, an Andrew W. Mellon research fellowship, a Fulbright Grant, and a residency at Hawthornden Castle. He has written for \u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Outside Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Sports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e Granta\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eTin House\u003c\/i\u003e, and other periodicals. He's married to the novelist, Peyton Marshall. He lives in Oregon, where he teaches at Lewis and Clark College.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon \u0026 Schuster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50606678311186,"sku":"9781668007433","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_16ac260c-8079-4eaf-9ffd-1263b2ee78dd.jpg?v=1737293179","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-refugee-ocean-9781668007433","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}