{"product_id":"9781922148926","title":"An Astronaut's Life","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn sparkling prose, Sonja Dechian’s profound, moving and wry stories speak to our deepest yearning for connection and the inevitability of our isolation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a terrorist cell of cyber-bullying victims working to annihilate the digital memory of their humiliation to a pandemic that leaves grieving parents battling for the media spotlight, these affecting tales invite us to examine our inability to control the world around us—and our own desires.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eAn Astronaut’s Life\u003c\/i\u003e is a beautiful debut from an intelligent new voice in Australian writing.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSonja Dechian\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer, editor, and radio and TV producer. She has co-edited two collections of stories about the Australian refugee experience, \u003ci\u003eDark Dreams\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eNo Place Like Home\u003c\/i\u003e (Wakefield Press).\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Head-spinning, sometimes spine-tingling. Every story here is a strange and remarkable gem.' Wayne Macauley\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘By the final page I was fully immersed in the book’s world—one both fantastical and eerily similar to real life. I wished I could have stayed longer.’ \u003ci\u003eBookseller \u0026amp; Publisher\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘[It’s] great reading the work of such an inventive writer, and I’m incredibly interested to see where she takes us next.’ Readings\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘[Dechian’s] best stories have a sustained voice, simple and nimble…The places she takes you turn out to be well worth the time.’ \u003ci\u003eSaturday Paper\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘\u003ci\u003eAn Astronaut’s Life\u003c\/i\u003e announces the arrival of a deeply original voice.’ \u003ci\u003eWeekend Australian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘These stories don’t contain all the answers to the questions they pose, but they illuminate the ways humans adapt or otherwise to life’s challenges – both big and seemingly extreme, as well as small, domestic, and apparently insignificant. Dechian has a light touch so that while her writing is intelligent it is never dense, and \u003ci\u003eAn Astronaut’s Life\u003c\/i\u003e is the salve for anyone who thinks plot-driven literary fiction is an oxymoron.’ \u003ci\u003eAge\/Sydney Morning Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘[\u003ci\u003eAn Astronaut’s Life\u003c\/i\u003e] is a well-written book by an accomplished author who skillfully manages to draw you completely into the lives of the people she is writing about.’  \u003ci\u003eWeekly Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e‘With a steady, no-nonsense prose style, peculiar scenarios and subtle turns in plot, \u003ci\u003eAn Astronaut’s Life\u003c\/i\u003e reflects our messy world...[The stories] all share a unique quirk-quality that mixes with profound compassion.’ \u003ci\u003eRochford Street Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Text Publishing Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47167963726064,"sku":"9781922148926","price":16.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781922148926_p0.jpg?v=1763633424","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781922148926","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}