{"product_id":"9780525431879","title":"The Spectator Bird","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the “dean of Western writers” (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) and the Pulitzer Prize winning–author of \u003ci\u003eAngle of Repose\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eCrossing to Safety\u003c\/i\u003e, his National Book Award–winning novel\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Joe Allston is a retired literary agent who is, in his own words, \"just killing time until time gets around to killing me.\" His parents and his only son are long dead, leaving him with neither ancestors nor descendants, tradition nor ties. His job, trafficking the talent of others, had not been his choice. He passes through life as a spectator.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA postcard from a friend causes Allston to return to the journals of a trip he had taken years before, a journey to his mother's birth­place where he'd sought a link with the past. The memories of that trip, both grotesque and poignant, move through layers of time and meaning, and reveal that Joe Allston isn't quite spectator enough.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47026199953648,"sku":"9780525431879","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780525431879_p0.jpg?v=1763710642","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780525431879","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}