{"product_id":"2940045483858","title":"The Stone Buddha's Tears","description":"\u003cp\u003eS.P. Somtow's novel The Stone Buddha's Tears was inspired by a real-life incident in 1991 in which the city of Bangkok, about to host an international conference, decided to throw up a corrugated iron fence around a slum in order to conceal it from passing delegates.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this fantasy novel of innocence and hope, the lives of two boys from opposite ends of the social spectrum intersect because of the wall. The protagonist, a beggar known only as \"boy\", meets a novice monk whose father, a corrupt politician, has sent him to a monastery in order to provide a picture-perfect photo-op for his election campaign.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBetween them the two boys concoct a team of street kids, taxi drivers and elephant herders in a wild plan to bring down the adult world's dark alliance between organized crime and politics.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Stone Buddha's Tears is a powerful story about friendship, class and society, and the power of children to speak the truth in a world in which adults have forgotten how.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Proglen","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47078291570928,"sku":"2940045483858","price":7.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940045483858_p0.jpg?v=1763680139","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940045483858","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}