{"product_id":"2940169838367","title":"The Golden State: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA gorgeous, raw debut novel about a young woman braving the ups and downs of motherhood in a fractured America\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Lydia Kiesling's razor-sharp debut novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Golden State\u003c\/i\u003e, we accompany Daphne, a young mother on the edge of a breakdown, as she flees her sensible but strained life in San Francisco for the high desert of Altavista with her toddler, Honey. Bucking under the weight of being a single parentamp;mdash;her Turkish husband is unable to return to the United States because of a \"processing error\"amp;mdash;Daphne takes refuge in a mobile home left to her by her grandparents in hopes that the quiet will bring clarity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut clarity proves elusive. Over the next ten days Daphne is anxious, she behaves a little erratically, she drinks too much. She wanders the town looking for anyone and anything to punctuate the long hours alone with the baby. Among others, she meets Cindy, a neighbor who is active in a secessionist movement, and befriends the elderly Alice, who has traveled to Altavista as she approaches the end of her life. When her relationships with these women culminate in a dangerous standoff, Daphne must reconcile her inner narrative with the reality of a deeply divided world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKeenly observed, bristling with humor, and set against the beauty of a little-known part of California, \u003ci\u003eThe Golden State\u003c\/i\u003e is about class and cultural breakdowns, and desperate attempts to bridge old and new worlds. But more than anything, it is about motherhood: its voracious worry, frequent tedium, and enthralling, wondrous love.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Blackstone Audio, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47099855536368,"sku":"2940169838367","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940169838367_p0.jpg?v=1769901351","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940169838367","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}