{"product_id":"9780679722922","title":"Ratner's Star","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"A whimsical, surrealistic excursion into the modern scientific mind.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe New Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of DeLillo's first novels, \u003ci\u003eRatner's Star \u003c\/i\u003efollows Billy, the genius adolescent, who is recruited to live in obscurity, underground, as he tries to help a panel of estranged, demented, and yet lovable scientists communicate with beings from outer space. It is a mix of quirky humor, science, mathematical theories, as well as the complex emotional distance and sadness people feel. \u003ci\u003eRatner's Star\u003c\/i\u003e demonstrates both the thematic and prosaic muscularity that typifies DeLillo's later and more recent works, like \u003ci\u003eThe Names\u003c\/i\u003e (which is also available in Vintage Contemporaries).  \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"His most spectacularly inventive novel.\" —\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47013821841648,"sku":"9780679722922","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780679722922_p0.jpg?v=1769916020","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780679722922","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}