{"product_id":"9781576875407","title":"Tales of Woe","description":"\u003cp\u003eTrue stories of totally undeserved suffering. Spectacularly depressing. Nobody gets their just deserts. Crushing defeats. No happy endings. Abject misery. Pointless, endless grief.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo lessons of temperance or moderation. No saving grace. No divine intervention. No salvation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sin, suffering, redemption. That’s the movie, that’s the front page news, that’s the story of popular culture—of American culture. A ray of hope. A comeuppance. An all-for-the-best. Makes it easier to deal with the world’s misery—to know that there’s a reason behind it, that it’ll always work out in the end, that people get what they deserve. The fact: sometimes people suffer for no reason. No sin, no redemption—just suffering, suffering, suffering. \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eTales of Woe\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e compiles today’s most awful narratives of human wretchedness. This is not Hollywood catharsis (someone overcomes something and the viewer is uplifted), this is the katharsis of Ancient Greece: you watch people suffer horribly, and then feel better about your own life. \u003ci\u003eTales of Woe\u003c\/i\u003e tells stories of murder, accident, depravity, cruelty, and senseless unhappiness: and all true.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Tales: strange, unexpected, morbidly enticing. Told straight—with elegance, restraint, and simplicity. The design: a one-of-kind white text on black paper, fluidly readable, and coupled with fifty pages of full-color art. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"powerHouse Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47055441625328,"sku":"9781576875407","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781576875407_p0.jpg?v=1763798342","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781576875407","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}