{"product_id":"2940170268092","title":"The Free: A Novel","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn his heartbreaking yet hopeful fourth novel, award-winning author Willy Vlautin demonstrates his extraordinary talent for illuminating the disquiet of modern American life, captured in the experiences of three memorable characters looking for meaning in distressing times.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeverely wounded in the Iraq war, Leroy Kervin has lived in a group home for eight years. Frustrated by the simplest daily routines, he finds his existence has become unbearable. An act of desperation helps him disappear deep into his mind, into a world of romance and science fiction, danger and adventure where he is whole once again.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFreddie McCall, the night man at Leroyamp;#39;s group home, works two jobs yet still canamp;#39;t make ends meet. Heamp;#39;s lost his wife and kids, and the house is next. Medical bills have buried him in debt, a situation that propels him to consider a lucrativeamp;#8212;and dangerousamp;#8212;proposition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePauline Hawkins, a nurse, cares for the sick and wounded, including Leroy. She also looks after her mentally ill elderly father. Yet she remains emotionally removed, until she meets a young runaway who touches something deep and unexpected inside her.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn crystalline prose, both beautiful and devastating, this amp;#34;major realist talentamp;#34; (\u003cem\u003eSeattle Post-Intelligencer\u003c\/em\u003e) considers the issues transforming ordinary peopleamp;#39;s livesamp;#8212;the cost of health care, the lack of economic opportunity, the devastating scars of waramp;#8212;creating an extraordinary contemporary portrait that is also a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HarperCollins Publishers","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47104973799664,"sku":"2940170268092","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940170268092_p0.jpg?v=1763794438","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940170268092","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}