{"product_id":"9781934137031","title":"The Cure","description":"\u003cp\u003e“An old-fashioned novel, in the best sense of that phrase, elegantly wrought, hardheaded, and tenderhearted.”—Michael Chabon on \u003ci\u003eA Company of Three\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“A first novel that soars.”— \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e on \u003ci\u003eLike China\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs America emerges from the Depression, the Hatherfords build a comfortable life just outside of New York City, in rural Bergen County, New Jersey. They are a glamorous couple: Vern is the charismatic owner of a successful Ford dealership, and his flamboyant wife Maeve is beautiful even in middle age. When their three-year-old son Scott falls prey to polio, and later, another son must go to war, their marriage slowly implodes. In the midst of it all, twelve-year-old Patsy steals swallows of whiskey and tries to make sense of the world around her, which includes an unusual intimacy between her brother Scott, and Julian, a young African American boy who lives among them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNeither historical nor medical fiction, \u003ci\u003eThe Cure\u003c\/i\u003e offers the pleasures of both in its richly complex portrayal of the lives and times of its characters. A beautifully written family saga about race, war, childhood illness, and romantic desire, \u003ci\u003eThe Cure\u003c\/i\u003e has at its heart wounding and the struggle for hope.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eVarley O’Connor\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eA Company of Three\u003c\/i\u003e (Algonquin, 2003) and \u003ci\u003eLike China\u003c\/i\u003e (Morrow, 1991). She has taught writing at Hofstra University; Brooklyn College; University of California, Irvine; and the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. She has been an actress for television, theater, and film and lives in Brooklyn, New York.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bellevue Literary Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47048191541488,"sku":"9781934137031","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781934137031_p0.jpg?v=1763641026","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781934137031","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}