{"product_id":"9781466817654","title":"The Book of Illusions","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA man's obsession with a silent-film star sends him on a journey into a shadow world of lies, illusions, and unexpected love \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSix months after losing his wife and two young sons in an airplane crash, Vermont professor David Zimmer spends his waking hours mired in a blur of alcoholic grief and self-pity. Then, watching television one night, he stumbles upon a clip from a lost silent film by comedian Hector Mann. Zimmer's interest is piqued, and he soon finds himself embarking on a journey around the world to research a book on this mysterious figure, who vanished from sight in 1929 and has been presumed dead for sixty years. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen the book is published the following year, a letter turns up in Zimmer's mailbox bearing a return address from a small town in New Mexico-supposedly written by Hector's wife. \"Hector has read your book and would like to meet you. Are you interested in paying us a visit?\" Is the letter a hoax, or is Hector Mann still alive? Torn between doubt and belief, Zimmer hesitates, until one night a strange woman appears on his doorstep and makes the decision for him, changing his life forever.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis stunning novel plunges the reader into a universe in which the comic and the tragic, the real and the imagined, the violent and the tender dissolve into one another. With \u003ci\u003eThe Book of Illusions\u003c\/i\u003e, one of America's most powerful and original writers has written his richest, most emotionally charged work yet.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Holt, Henry \u0026 Company, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47141241159920,"sku":"9781466817654","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781466817654_p0.jpg?v=1769890934","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781466817654","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}