{"product_id":"smothered-graeme-sparkes-9780645638233","title":"Smothered","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eWhen Alan's mother rings to beg him to return to the family home for the final weeks of his father's life, he baulks, unwilling to be around the man who tried to control every moment of his childhood and adolescence. But he is at the sick man's bedside when his father makes an extraordinary request. Alan is tempted but does he follow through?\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSmothered \u003c\/strong\u003eis the coming of age story of a socially isolated young man told with unsparing skill and sympathetic insight.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlan grows up in a baffling world of stifling normality. His father, Tosh, is an ambitious man of more energy than talent; his mother is a caring woman who accepts the necessity of being seen to respect a conventional life. As he struggles to find purpose and worth, Alan is drawn through a tangle of drugs, self-harm, and self-serving friendships, always unable to free himself from the quagmire of family life and expectation. His final confrontation with his father and his past is both terrifying and consoling.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSmothered \u003c\/strong\u003eis a work of great understanding, told with skill, humour, and compassion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Graeme Sparkes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0645638234\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780645638233\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e In Case of Emergency Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.68lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.47d","brand":"Graeme Sparkes","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48799386730751,"sku":"9780645638233","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/smothered-graeme-sparkes-9780645638233","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}