{"product_id":"rafael-has-pretty-eyes-elaine-mccluskey-9781773101637","title":"Rafael Has Pretty Eyes","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner, Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction \u003cbr\u003eLong-Shortlisted, ReLit Award (Short Fiction)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"You go through life convinced you're going to get diabetes like your old man and one day you choke to death on chicken gristle, and the autopsy shows your blood sugars were perfect.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe seventeen stories in Elaine McCluskey's latest collection, \u003ci\u003eRafael Has Pretty Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e, follow characters who have reached a four-way stop in life; some are deciding whether to follow the signs or defy them; others find a sinkhole forming beneath their feet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA former fast-talking, big-bucks radio host now lives as a divorced payday loaner working in a strip mall; a football wide receiver at a small Canadian university works the night shift as a bouncer while recovering from his third concussion; a well-liked city councilor is arrested on a packed bus. As one character puts it, \"life is just one extended series of anecdotes strung together until they kill you.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet in the Maritimes but transcending regional boundaries, McCluskey's stories are experimental, sometimes provocative, and often about those living on the margins. Smart, compassionate and unsparing, \u003ci\u003eRafael Has Pretty Eyes\u003c\/i\u003e explores the absurdity and interconnectedness of a life adrift.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Elaine McCluskey\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1773101633\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781773101637\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Goose Lane Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/29\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 254\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.95h x 5.20w x 0.79d","brand":"Elaine McCluskey","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43981644398847,"sku":"9781773101637","price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_9730535a-5ba0-47f4-9ad1-cdb410f0a853.jpg?v=1683256734","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/rafael-has-pretty-eyes-elaine-mccluskey-9781773101637","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}