{"product_id":"book-cru2","title":"This Is Not a Love Song","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eA debut collection of moving and darkly witty stories from an \"admirably fearless\" (\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e) writer whom critics have compared to Michael Chabon, E.L. Doctorow, and Dennis Lehane\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eA Massachusetts Book Award \"Must Read\" Selection\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhen marriages, friendships, and families come undone, to what lengths do we go to keep it all together? That question lies at the heart of Brendan Mathews's buoyant and unforgettable debut story collection. A young mother watches as her desperate husband, convinced a hidden poison lurks inside their walls, tears their home apart. Two journalists bruised by romance and revolution, one a survivor of the Bosnian war, trade tales of lost lovers. A father and his sons haggle over the family business during a high-stakes round of golf. And a lovesick circus clown tries to explain the accidents that bound him to a trapeze artist and a witless lion tamer.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eIf Mathews's novel \u003ci\u003eThe World of Tomorrow \u003c\/i\u003ewas an \"outsized\" entertainment, a \"big, expressive debut\" (\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e), then \u003ci\u003eThis Is Not a Love Song\u003c\/i\u003e, two stories from which have been included in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Short Stories\u003c\/i\u003e, is glorious proof that he excels equally as a miniaturist. From rock-star flameouts to church burnings to ordinary people trying not to fall out of love, these stories are packed with vivid detail, emotional precision, and deft, redemptive humor.\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49349265817904,"sku":"BDcru2","price":24.98,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/cru2-cover.jpg?v=1761961348","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-cru2","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}