{"product_id":"unless-9780060874407","title":"Unless","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Nothing short of astonishing.\" -- \u003cem\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A thing of beauty--lucidly written, artfully ordered, riddled with riddles and undergirded with dark layers of philosophical meditations.\" -- \u003cem\u003eLos Angeles Times\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe final book from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carol Shields, \u003cem\u003eUnless, \u003c\/em\u003e is a harrowing but ultimately consoling story of one family's anguish and healing, proving Shields's mastery of extraordinary fiction about ordinary life.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor all of her life, 44 year old Reta Winters has enjoyed the useful monotony of happiness: a loving family, good friends, growing success as a writer of light 'summertime' fiction. But this placid existence is cracked wide open when her beloved eldest daughter, Norah, drops out to sit on a gritty street corner, silent but for the sign around her neck that reads 'GOODNESS.' Reta's search for what drove her daughter to such a desperate statement turns into an unflinching and surprisingly funny meditation on where we find meaning and hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eShields, Carol:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCarol Shields was born in Chicago and lived in Canada for most of her life. She is the author of three short story collections and eight novels, including the Pulitzer Prize -- winning \u003cem\u003eThe Stone Diaries\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eLarry's Party\u003c\/em\u003e, winner of the Orange Prize.","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50565310447890,"sku":"9780060874407","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c12a4b9f-eebc-4c0d-99c6-03a0b176108a.jpg?v=1731884535","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/unless-9780060874407","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}