{"product_id":"lear-mike-johnson-9780994101501","title":"Lear: The Shakespeare Company Plays Lear at Babylon","description":"\u003cp\u003eA plague driven band of vagabonds and beggars, calling themselves The Shakespeare Company, arrive at the decaying little town of Babylon, where they perform King Lear in a whirl of mayhem and madness. As the night proceeds, they spin out of control, embodied by their roles.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNarrated by the girl Curan, a minor character, this novel is part black comedy, part tragedy, part carnival, and implicitly dystopian. It is a bizarre and disturbing novel of a plague society in social and moray decay. A novel that challenges the reader at every turn.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eErotic, eerie and disturbing, Johnson's novel reinvents the emotional dynamic of Shakespeare's play, as in a distorted mirror. It does not, however, require knowledge of the play to work it's magic as a piece of fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'Johnson makes an original contribution to the literature of disaster, and certainly to the nation's literature that still struggles beneath the mantle of social realism; he does it by the sheer intensity of his poetic vision, combined with an adroit meta-fictional sense... \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this fallen world, does falling matter? Johnson's novel is an exuberant, artful meditation on this question...' David Dowling, Landfall.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'He has achieved a kind of 'worldmaking' that confirms his position as one of New Zealand's most important fiction writers.' Jody Dalgleish, on the novel \u003cem\u003eTravesty\u003c\/em\u003e, Landfall.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e'One of the most innovative, original and fearless writers I know.' Witi Ihimaera, on the novel \u003cem\u003eStench\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Mike Johnson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0994101503\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780994101501\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e 99% Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/01\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 218\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.72lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d","brand":"Mike Johnson","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47452579496191,"sku":"9780994101501","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_818dba64-4dd7-4fb7-afe3-56a5eea10c8a.jpg?v=1761929261","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/lear-mike-johnson-9780994101501","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}