{"product_id":"2940170118885","title":"A Long Stone's Throw","description":"This memoir of the youngest McCourt begins between the borders of \u003cst1:country-region w:st=\"on\"\u003eCanada\u003c\/st1:country-region\u003e and the \u003cst1:country-region w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eUnited States\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:country-region\u003e. Because of a technical hitch in immigration law, Alphie, in town to play a rugby match with his mates, finds himself shanghaied in no man's land. This was not the first, or the last, time Alphie will be on unsteady ground.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlphie McCourt was born in \u003cu1:place u2:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cu1:city u2:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:city w:st=\"on\"\u003eLimerick\u003c\/st1:city\u003e\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/u1:city\u003e, \u003cu1:country-region u2:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:country-region w:st=\"on\"\u003eIreland\u003c\/st1:country-region\u003e\u003c\/u1:country-region\u003e\u003c\/u1:place\u003e, where his father's departure left misery behind for the family. His loneliness only grew deeper and wider as each of his older brothers (Frank, Malachy and Michael) left for \u003cu1:country-region u2:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cu1:place u2:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:country-region w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eAmerica\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:country-region\u003e\u003c\/u1:place\u003e\u003c\/u1:country-region\u003e; so in the year 1959, Alphie followed them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlphie's adolescence in \u003cst1:state w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eNew York\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:state\u003e was marked by aimlessness, and too much drink. Briefly returning to \u003cst1:country-region w:st=\"on\"\u003eIreland\u003c\/st1:country-region\u003e and study law, he returned to \u003cst1:country-region w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eAmerica only\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:country-region\u003e three years later, where this time he settled in \u003cst1:state w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eCalifornia\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:state\u003e, discovering marijuana and Gabriel Garcia Marquez.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReturning to his immigrant roots in \u003cst1:city w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eNew York City\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:city\u003e, Alphie reencounters the beautiful Upper East Side Lynn,and marries her in 1975, in a raucous ceremony attended by both priest and rabbi. Success followed by hardship in business ventures color several of the following years. Then, one night, on Route 80 in \u003cst1:state w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003eNew Jersey\u003c\/st1:place\u003e\u003c\/st1:state\u003e, drunk, full of despair and driving through the snow, Alphie has an epiphany. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eToday Alphie rises in the morning, at time when he used to go to bed. With a \u003cst1:city w:st=\"on\"\u003eNew York City\u003c\/st1:city\u003e dawn still lingering, he monitors the \u003cst1:place w:st=\"on\"\u003e\u003cst1:placename w:st=\"on\"\u003eEmpire\u003c\/st1:placename\u003e \u003cst1:placetype w:st=\"on\"\u003eState\u003c\/st1:placetype\u003e \u003cst1:placetype w:st=\"on\"\u003eBuilding\u003c\/st1:placetype\u003e\u003c\/st1:place\u003e, in all its moods and colors, and knows he has finally landed on firm ground. He is home.","brand":"Hachette Audio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47117120405744,"sku":"2940170118885","price":14.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170118885_p0.jpg?v=1769903848","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170118885","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}