{"product_id":"9781408175002","title":"How the World Began","description":"Sharp, thoughtful and mysterious, \u003ci\u003eHow the World Began\u003c\/i\u003e is a powerful story about an outsider in a close-knit, devastated community.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSusan, a science teacher from Manhattan, starts work in a small rural Kansas town that's been ripped apart by a tornado.  When one of her pupils - the damaged, articulate Micah - takes offence at an off-the-cuff remark about how life on Earth began, Susan is thrown into an ethical firestorm about science and faith that leads to her fearing for her safety.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCasting light on the tension between religion and secular liberalism, \u003ci\u003eHow the World Began\u003c\/i\u003e explores the debate between creationism and evolution, and how this is taught in schools.  With hints of American classics like \u003ci\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Catcher in the Rye\u003c\/i\u003e, the play traces the inexorable, fatalistic momentum from a single casual act into an all-encompassing dispute.  A dispute which then threatens the very foundations of a community still reeling from a colossal disaster.  In addition to its relevant and complex themes, the play is also about human psychology and what drives people to extreme ideological positions in times of duress.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith writing which is provocative, moving and intelligent, Catherine Trieschmann asks important questions alongside in-depth character studies.  This shrewd and compassionate drama is astute, perceptive and controversial.","brand":"Bloomsbury USA","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47140634558704,"sku":"9781408175002","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781408175002_p0.jpg?v=1763719799","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781408175002","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}