{"product_id":"w-steve-sem-sandberg-9781419751226","title":"W.","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this internationally acclaimed novel, Steve Sem-Sandberg brilliantly refracts the story of Georg B?hner's groundbreaking play \u003ci\u003eWoyzeck\u003c\/i\u003e through a new lens.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eW.\u003c\/i\u003e, the astonishing novel by August Prize-winning author Steve Sem-Sandberg, is a literary reimagining of one of modern literature's touchstone texts, the play \u003ci\u003eWoyzeck\u003c\/i\u003e. Considered the first modern drama, \u003ci\u003eWoyzeck\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of a loyal soldier and survivor of the Napoleonic Wars who, in a fit of jealous rage, kills the woman he loves. In 1836 this true story inspired Georg Büchner to write the play, unfinished at his death at just 23 years old. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eW.\u003c\/i\u003e grippingly recounts the lovers' relationship, the murder case, and the soldier's execution. The story unfolds as the soldier W. struggles to recount the events of his life. He grasps at understanding and experiences feelings of time and timelessness. He finds patterns and repetitions, but these are of no interest to those determining his fate. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Sem-Sandberg searched court archives to bring new light to this story, and he masterfully sustains a rich period atmosphere through poetic and controlled prose, down to the choice of pronouns as the soldier is held at a cold distance in court proceedings when addressed with the formal, capitalized \"You.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Against a landscape devastated by inhumanity and greed that yet manages to sustain hope, Steve Sem-Sandberg's \u003ci\u003eW.\u003c\/i\u003e tells a ruthless, moving, and utterly relevant story as the soldier W. desperately and humanly fights to make something of the life given to him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Cogent and affecting . . . In Mr. Sem-Sandberg's fine novel, the tragedy is real but much more specific and conditional. It gives us, the readers, just enough of a loophole to evade its reckonings.\" --\u003ci\u003eWall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Steve Sem-Sandberg\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1419751220\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781419751226\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Overlook Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/28\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 5.90w x 1.40d","brand":"Steve Sem-Sandberg","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43996571533567,"sku":"9781419751226","price":28.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_2cd3752d-3050-4846-b8a4-bbf8ed53f2f2.jpg?v=1683342457","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/w-steve-sem-sandberg-9781419751226","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}