{"product_id":"friday-michel-tournier-9781681379814","title":"Friday","description":"\u003cb\u003eA provocative retelling of \u003ci\u003eRobinson Crusoe\u003c\/i\u003e, this classic of twentieth-century French literature depicts the explorer's struggle to tame nature and the transformative power of his relationship with the indigenous character, Friday. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOne of the most commonly assigned books in French high schools, \u003ci\u003eFriday\u003c\/i\u003e mines the philosophical underpinnings of Defoe's original story, exploring concepts of imperialism, world-building, and existentialism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"What was Friday to Daniel Defoe? Nothing: an animal, at best a creature waiting to receive his humanity from Robinson Crusoe, who as a European was in sole possession of all knowledge and wisdom.\" A stunning postcolonial retelling of Defoe's myth, Michel Tournier's \u003ci\u003eFriday \u003c\/i\u003esubverts expectations at every turn. Cast away on a tropical island, Tournier's God-fearing Crusoe sets out to tame it, to remake it in the image of the civilization he has left behind. Alone and against all odds, he almost succeeds. Then Friday appears, and Crusoe is immediately infuriated by his mannerisms, by his \"irrepressible, lyrical, and blasphemous\" laugh, and most of all, by his natural intimacy with the island. Crusoe is certain that he has nothing to learn from Friday about how to live in nature. But after an accident destroys all of Crusoe's hard work, it is up to Friday to teach him just how ignorant he is. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWinner of the 1967 Grand Prix du Roman of the Académie Française, \u003ci\u003eFriday\u003c\/i\u003e transforms one of the canonical texts of western literature into a tale of initiation, and affirms both the abundance of the natural world and the abiding presence of the marvellous and mysterious.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michel Tournier\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1681379813\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781681379814\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/02\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.81lbs","brand":"Michel Tournier","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47244208865535,"sku":"9781681379814","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b2d9531c-56f3-49b9-916a-2961613444bf.jpg?v=1758135196","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/friday-michel-tournier-9781681379814","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}