{"product_id":"9789543840533","title":"Ash Wednesday","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn this collection of sixteen short stories by the Galician writer Miguel-Anxo Murado, the reader is taken on a journey through the various rites of passage that make up an individual’s life, from the months-old baby who lives in the eternal moment of Nothingness and quickly forgets an argument with his elder brother to the university professor who visits a colleague in Kyoto to see the cherry blossom and before the symbols of impermanence is forced to confront his own terminal illness. Children and adults alike endure extreme situations, from a child who is bullied at school to the Chinese women workers who stay up all night to prepare a handmade suit for the morning. Sailors are rescued at sea; others are cast adrift when their ship sinks, at the mercy of the current. A young man is brought face to face with his late father when surrounded by a mountain blaze; a young girl endeavors to learn the secrets to her sister’s radiant beauty. Two boys fall for the same girl; one tries to curry favor with the members of his gang in a story reminiscent of Isaac Babel’s \u003cem\u003eRed Cavalry\u003c\/em\u003e, while another searches for the strength inside. All are caught in unexpected situations, elegantly and expertly described, and handed the task of how to react in a book that celebrates the human spirit across barriers of time and language.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Small Stations Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47063631823088,"sku":"9789543840533","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9789543840533_p0.jpg?v=1763678108","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9789543840533","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}