{"product_id":"9780870139987","title":"Plain of Jars: and Other Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the opening story of Geary Hobson’s riveting new collection, \u003ci\u003ePlain of Jars\u003c\/i\u003e, a young private confides to his friend that he’s trying to leave the Marine Corps. “I am not doing this just because I find the Marine Corps too tough,” Warren Needham says, but because violence is contradictory to his faith. The story’s surprising climax, however, reveals a different side of Needham’s contradictory nature. It’s this acute understanding of conflict that characterizes \u003ci\u003ePlain of Jars\u003c\/i\u003e, a book populated by bullies, men in combat, abusive spouses, and Native Americans seeking a sense of personal identity in an environment where conformity is law. The U.S. Marine Corps sets the stage for a number of these stories, whose protagonists combat racism, post-traumatic stress syndrome, and the looming reality of the Vietnam War. With pitch perfect dialogue and a sense of the unexpected, \u003ci\u003ePlain of Jars \u003c\/i\u003etests the depths of complex lives.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Michigan State University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47027406766320,"sku":"9780870139987","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780870139987_p0.jpg?v=1763839709","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780870139987","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}