{"product_id":"9781612196688","title":"The Book of Formation","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis debut novel—told in interviews—spans 20 years in the rise and fall of the charismatic leader of a seductive self-help movement.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the 1990s, a talk show host leads the \"personality movement,\" an integrative approach to radical self-transformation. Mayah, the movement's architect and celebrity advocate, adopts a curious, wild child named Masha Isle. A guinea-pig for the movement, and the key to its future, Isle is the subject of the eight interviews that comprise this book. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the interviewer's objectivity disintegrates—even as the movement's legitimacy becomes increasingly suspect—he becomes obsessed with Masha. And all of that is thrown into question when tragedy strikes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe stunning debut of a new literary talent, and a fascinating take on the cult of personality: about celebrities need to destroy and recreate themselves to stay relevant, public personalities coming to belong to everyone, and about our need to see everyone as a kind of celebrity.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Melville House Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47018634608880,"sku":"9781612196688","price":11.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781612196688_p0.jpg?v=1763844637","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781612196688","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}