{"product_id":"9781101456361","title":"The Surf Guru","description":"\u003cb\u003eA book of brilliant, adventurous stories from the award-winning Doug Dorst. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the publication of his debut novel, \u003ci\u003eAlive in Necropolis\u003c\/i\u003e, Doug Dorst was widely celebrated as one of the most creative, original literary voices of his generation-an heir to T.C. Boyle and Denis Johnson, a northern California Haruki Murakami. Now, in his second book, \u003ci\u003eThe Surf Guru\u003c\/i\u003e, his full talent is on display, revealing an ability to explore worlds and capture characters that other writers have not yet discovered.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the title story, an old surfing-champion-turned-surfwear- entrepreneur sits on his ocean-front balcony watching a new generation of surfers come of age on the waves, all but one of whom wear wet suits emblazoned with the Surf Guru's name. An acid-tongued, pioneering botanist who has been exiled from the academy composes a series of scurrilous (and hilarious) biographical sketches of his colleagues and rivals, inadvertently telling his own story. A pair of twenty-first- century drifters course through a series of unusual adventures in their dilapidated car, chased west out of one town and into the next, dreaming of hitting the Pacific.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDorst's characters have all successfully cultivated a particular expertise, and yet they remain intent on moving toward the horizon, seeking hope in something new. Likewise, each of Dorst's stories is a virtuoso performance balancing humor and insight, achieving a perfect pitch, pulsing with a gritty and punchy, distinctly American realism- and yet always pushing on into the unexpected, taking us some place new.","brand":"Penguin Publishing Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47128026710256,"sku":"9781101456361","price":8.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781101456361_p0.jpg?v=1763687030","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781101456361","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}