{"product_id":"the-presence-of-absence-simon-van-booy-9781567928761","title":"The Presence of Absence","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Flows with depth and power....wide-open wonder.\"--\u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Simon Van Booy electrifyingly combines story with parable....wise, witty and always breathtakingly beautiful.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle, Best Fiction of the Year\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs a writer lies dying, he has one last story to tell: a tale of faith and devotion, a meditation on what lies beyond this life, and a prayer of gratitude that may lead to rebirth. This is Simon Van Booy at his visionary best. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Language is a map leading to a place not on the map,\" announces a young writer lying in a hospital bed at the beginning of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Presence of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. As he contemplates his impending physical disappearance and the impact on his beloved wife, he realizes, \"Life doesn't start when you're born . . . it begins when you commit yourself to the eventual devastating loss that results from connecting to another person.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInfused with poetic clarity and graced with humor, Simon Van Booy's innovative novella asks the reader to find beauty--even gratitude--in the cycle of birth and death. Stripped of artifice, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Presence of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is a meditation between the writer and the reader, an imaginative work that challenges the deceit of written words and explores our strongest emotions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSimon Van Booy is not only a master storyteller but a writer whose fiction is rich with philosophical insights into things both mapped and undiscovered. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Presence of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e parts the darkness to reveal what has been just out of sight all along. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Simon Van Booy\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1567928765\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781567928761\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e David R. Godine Publisher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/04\/2027\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback","brand":"Simon Van Booy","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48520210546943,"sku":"9781567928761","price":16.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_a6eb180e-67e9-4552-8125-e3cfd4535a52.jpg?v=1778741394","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-presence-of-absence-simon-van-booy-9781567928761","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}