{"product_id":"9781771313032","title":"Introduction to the Introduction to Wang Wei","description":"Introduction to the Introduction to the Introduction by Andre Alexis  For me, reading the Introduction was like being caught in a spring shower while waiting for the 41, and running into a library to get out of the rain and, because the rain lasts, wandering the aisles on the fifth floor, taking books from the shelves (Waley's translations from the Chinese, a work by Roland Barthes, an oversized book about eastern birds…), draping my winter coat on a chair and sitting down to read.  My coat smells of wet coconut matting, and the library is warm, and I fall asleep, my head on the desk, and dream about a strange library filled with impossibly rare and impossibly beautiful works: Waley on birds, Barthes' translations from the Chinese, an oversized book about rain…  And when I wake, moments later, after what seems like hours, I have the momentary and vivid conviction that, if I listened properly, I could translate water into any language at all.","brand":"Brick Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47149999980784,"sku":"9781771313032","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781771313032_p0.jpg?v=1763707915","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781771313032","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}