{"product_id":"9781491749579","title":"The Ballad of St. Katherine: a novella and stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eKatherine is a strange Bronx girl who “hears” the voices of the constellations. Abetted by a building super and a disgraced NASA administrator, she becomes a revered faith healer, only to be betrayed by her inner voice, when it tells her to have a child.\u003c\/p\u003e   \u003cp\u003eSet in eras ranging from the sixties to the near future, Simon’s stories blend sexual tension, religious feeling, intellect and madness into a compelling brew. In a senior-living facility, a man plots murder with a woman he believes to be a famous author. A philosophy professor and her boyfriend contemplate suicide. Their every move followed by cameras, the contestants in a reality show need to complete a “main task,” but no one knows what it is. After years on the run from the F.B.I., a bank robber enters a monastery, while his lover\/accomplice stews in boredom.\u003c\/p\u003e   \u003cp\u003eIn the words of one of Simon’s characters: “The sacred and the profane lie close together, separated by the thinnest membrane, almost nothing.” Breeching this boundary, The Ballad of St. Katherine presents a fascinating set of personalities, some slain by their obsessions, others able to come to terms with their lives, or their deaths.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"iUniverse, Incorporated","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47158682386672,"sku":"9781491749579","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781491749579_p0.jpg?v=1763659493","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781491749579","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}