{"product_id":"the-skating-rink-9780811218689","title":"The Skating Rink","description":"With a murder at its heart, Roberto Bolaño's \u003cem\u003eThe Skating Rink\u003c\/em\u003e is, among other things, a crime novel. Murder seems to have exerted a fascination for the endlessly talented Bolaño, who in his last interview, according to \u003cem\u003eThe Observer\u003c\/em\u003e, \"declared, in all apparent seriousness, that what he would most like to have been was a homicide detective.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Set in the seaside town of Z, north of Barcelona, \u003cem\u003eThe Skating Rink\u003c\/em\u003e is told in short, suspenseful chapters by three male narrators, and revolves around a beautiful figure skating champion, Nuria Martí. A ruined mansion, knife-wielding women, political corruption, sex, and jealousy all appear in this atmospheric chronicle of a single summer season in a seaside town, with its vacationers, businessmen, immigrants, bureaucrats, social workers, and drifters.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAndrews, Chris:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - The poet and translator \u003cstrong\u003eChris Andrews\u003c\/strong\u003e has won the Valle Inclan Prize and the French-American Translation Prize for his work.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBolaño, Roberto:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Author of \u003cem\u003e2666\u003c\/em\u003e and many other acclaimed works, \u003cstrong\u003eRoberto Bolaño\u003c\/strong\u003e (1953-2003) was born in Santiago, Chile, and later lived in Mexico, Paris, and Spain. He has been acclaimed \"by far the most exciting writer to come from south of the Rio Grande in a long time\" (Ilan Stavans, \u003cem\u003eThe Los Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e),\" and as \"the real thing and the rarest\" (Susan Sontag). Among his many prizes are the extremely prestigious Herralde de Novela Award and the Premio Rómulo Gallegos. He was widely considered to be the greatest Latin American writer of his generation. He wrote nine novels, two story collections, and five books of poetry, before dying in July 2003 at the age of 50.","brand":"New Directions Publishing Corporation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50544083435794,"sku":"9780811218689","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_60de0056-c9eb-4b51-a0ba-7cd9437a9880.jpg?v=1764072436","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-skating-rink-9780811218689","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}