{"product_id":"9781770560765","title":"Girls Fall Down","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe 2012 One Book Toronto title\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eShortlisted for the Toronto Book Award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA girl faints in the Toronto subway. Her friends are taken to the hospital with unexplained rashes; they complain about a funny smell in the subway. Swarms of police arrive, and then the hazmat team. Panic ripples through the city, and words like poisoning and terrorism become airborne. Soon, people are collapsing all over the city in subways and streetcars and malls.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlex was witness to this first episode. He’s a photographer: of injuries and deaths, for his job at the hospital, and of life, in his evening explorations of the city. Alex’s sight is failing, and as he rushes to capture his vision of Toronto on film, he encounters an old girlfriend – the one who shattered his heart in the eighties, while she was fighting for abortion rights and social justice and he was battling his body’s chemical demons. But now Susie-Paul is in the midst of her own crisis: her schizophrenic brother is missing, and the streets of Toronto are more hostile than ever.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaggie Helwig, author of the critically lauded \u003cem\u003eBetween Mountains\u003c\/em\u003e, has fashioned a novel not of bold actions but of small gestures, showing how easy and gentle is the slide into paranoia, and how enormous and terrifying is the slide into love.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'The depth of her understanding ... fills this book with moving scenes and striking perceptions.’ – \u003cem\u003eThe Globe and Mail\u003c\/em\u003e (about \u003cem\u003eBetween Mountains\u003c\/em\u003e)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'With pitch-perfect prose, Helwig shows huge compassion and an ability to make Toronto come alive.' – \u003cem\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eNOW\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'stellar ... meticulous and poignant realism' - \u003cem\u003eMontreal Gazette\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Coach House Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47173313724656,"sku":"9781770560765","price":11.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781770560765_p0.jpg?v=1763707450","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781770560765","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}