{"product_id":"9781421424231","title":"Subcortical","description":"\u003cp\u003eLee Conell’s linguistically deft stories examine the permeability between the real and the imagined, the stories buried beneath the surface and the stories by which we live our lives. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the title story of this collection, a young woman who wants to become a doctor is manipulated by an older man into playing a role in one of his medical studies. In \"The Lock Factory,\" winner of the \u003ci\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e’s 2016 Nelson Algren Literary Award, three women who assemble school combination locks are trapped inside an escalating generational conflict of their own making. A boy who has lost his mother in \"The Rent-Controlled Ghost\" searches for the spirit of the mistreated tenant who formerly inhabited his apartment. \"A Magic Trick for the Recently Unemployed\" serves as a three-step how-to guide for reclaiming a sense of self and purpose. In \"What the Blob Said to Me,\" an elderly woman dwells on her long-ago experience working at a government production site for the atomic bomb. And a mother-daughter Groupon for an upscale afternoon tea goes seriously awry in \"Mutant at the Pierre Hotel.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith humor and verve, \u003ci\u003eSubcortical\u003c\/i\u003e’s dynamic stories delve into the mysteries of the human mind as these haunted characters struggle with economic disparity, educational divides, and the often-contested spaces in which they live.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Johns Hopkins University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47153817911536,"sku":"9781421424231","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781421424231_p0.jpg?v=1763738802","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781421424231","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}