{"product_id":"9781931883450","title":"The Game for Real","description":"Compared to Kafka and a member of the Surrealists, Richard Weiner is one of European literature’s best-kept secrets. \u003ci\u003eThe Game for Real\u003c\/i\u003e marks the long overdue arrival of his dreamlike, anxiety-ridden fiction into English.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe book opens with \u003ci\u003eThe Game of Quartering,\u003c\/i\u003e where an unnamed hero discovers his double. Surely, he reasons, if \u003ci\u003ehe\u003c\/i\u003e has a double, then his double must also have a double too, and so on . . . What follows is a grotesquely hilarious, snowballing spree through Paris, where real-life landmarks disintegrate into theaters, puppet shows, and, ultimately, a funeral.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFollowing this, \u003ci\u003eThe Game for the Honor of Payback\u003c\/i\u003e neatly inverts things: instead of a branching, expanding adventure, a man known as “Shame” embarks on a quest that collapses inward. Slapped by someone he despises, he launches a doomed crusade to return the insult. As the stakes grow ever higher, it seems that Shame will stop at nothing — even if he discovers he’s chasing his own tail.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBlending metaphysical questions with farcical humor, bizarre twists, and acute psychology, \u003ci\u003eThe Game for Real\u003c\/i\u003e is a riveting exploration of who we are — and why we can’t be so sure we know.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Two Lines Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47178151821552,"sku":"9781931883450","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781931883450_p0.jpg?v=1763639115","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781931883450","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}