{"product_id":"2940170209989","title":"A Permanent Member of the Family","description":"\u003cp\u003eA masterly collection of new stories from Russell Banks, acclaimed author of \u003cem\u003eThe Sweet Hereafter\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eRule of the Bone\u003c\/em\u003e, which maps the complex terrain of the modern American family\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e lauds Russell Banks as \"the most compassionate fiction writer working today\" and hails him as a novelist who delivers \"wrenching, panoramic visions of American moral life.\" Long celebrated for his unflinching, empathetic works that explore the unspoken but hard realities of contemporary culture, Banks now turns his keen intelligence and emotional acuity on perhaps his most complex subject yet: the shape of family in its many forms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSuffused with Banks's trademark lyricism and reckless humor, the twelve stories in \u003cem\u003eA Permanent Member of the Family\u003c\/em\u003e examine the myriad ways we tryamp;#8212;and sometimes failamp;#8212;to connect with one another, as we seek a home in the world. In the title story, a father looks back on the legend of the cherished family dog whose divided loyalties mirrored the fragmenting of his marriage. In \"Christmas Party,\" a young man entertains dark thoughts as he watches his newly remarried ex-wife leading the life he once imagined they would share. \"A Former Marine\" asks, to chilling effect, if one can ever stop being a parent. And in the haunting, evocative \"Veronica,\" a mysterious woman searching for her missing daughter may not be who she claims she is.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMoving between the stark beauty of winter in upstate New York and the seductive heat of Florida, \u003cem\u003eA Permanent Member of the Family\u003c\/em\u003e charts with subtlety and precision the ebb and flow of both the families we make for ourselves and the ones we're born into, as it asks how we know the ones we love and, in turn, ourselves. One of our most acute and penetrating authors, Banks's virtuosic writing animates stories that are profoundly humane, deeplyamp;#8212;and darklyamp;#8212;funny, and absolutely unforgettable. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47115105272048,"sku":"2940170209989","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170209989_p0.jpg?v=1763705037","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170209989","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}