{"product_id":"book-b576","title":"Welcome to Hard Times","description":"\u003cb\u003eHere is E. L. Doctorow’s debut novel, a searing allegory of frontier life that sets the stage for his subsequent classics.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHard Times is the name of a town in the barren hills of the Dakota Territory.  To  this town there comes one day one of the reckless sociopaths who wander the West  to kill and rape and pillage. By the time he is through and has ridden off, Hard  Times is a smoking ruin. The de facto mayor, Blue, takes in two survivors of the  carnage–a boy, Jimmy, and a prostitute, Molly, who has suffered unspeakably–and makes  them his provisional family. Blue begins to rebuild Hard Times, welcoming new settlers,  while Molly waits with vengeance in her heart for the return of the outlaw. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eWelcome to Hard Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A forceful, credible story of cowardice and  evil.”\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “We are caught up with these people as real human beings.”\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Chicago Sun-Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Dramatic and exciting.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe New York Times\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “Terse and powerful.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eNewsweek\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e “A taut, bloodthirsty read.”\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e—The Times Literary Supplement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “A superb  piece of fiction.”\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eThe New Republic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49336016961840,"sku":"BDb576","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/287736-b576-Square.jpg?v=1733942369","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-b576","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}