{"product_id":"9780385352901","title":"Who Killed Piet Barol?: A novel","description":"\u003cb\u003eA haunting, gloriously imagined novel by the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eHistory of a Pleasure Seeker\u003c\/i\u003e (“a classic” —\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e), set in early twentieth-century colonial Cape Town, and a forest full of witch doctors, stingless bees, and hungry leopards.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e It is 1914. Germany has just declared war on France. Piet Barol was a tutor before he came to South Africa, his wife, Stacey, an opera singer. In Cape Town they are living the high life, impersonating French aristocrats—but their lies are catching up with them. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Barols’ furniture business is on the verge of collapse. They need top-quality wood, and they need it cheap. Piet enlists two Xhosa [\u003ci\u003epron\u003c\/i\u003e. KO-sa] men to lead him into a vast forest, in search of a fabled tree. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The Natives Land Act has just abolished property rights for the majority of black South Africans, and whole families have been ripped apart. Piet’s guides have their own reasons to lead him through the trees, and to keep him alive while he’s useful to them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Far from the comforting certainties of his privileged existence, Piet finds the prospect of riches beyond measure—and the chance to make great art. He is sure he’ll be able to buy what he needs for a few glass trinkets. But he’s underestimating the Xhosa, who believe the spirits of their ancestors live in this sacred forest.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Battle lines are drawn. When Piet’s powers of persuasion fail him, he resorts to darker, more dangerous talents to get what he is determined to have. As the story moves to its devastating conclusion, every character becomes a suspect, and Piet’s arrogance and guile put him on a collision course with forces he cannot understand and that threaten his seemingly enchanted existence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFrom the Hardcover edition.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47102508859632,"sku":"9780385352901","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780385352901_p0.jpg?v=1763694649","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780385352901","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}