{"product_id":"9780864929853","title":"This Side of Sad","description":"\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;Part mystery, part elegy, \u0026lt;i\u0026gt;This Side of Sad\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt; begins with an ending: the violent enigma of a man's death. Was it an accident, or did James commit suicide? In the shattering aftermath, his widow, Maslen, questions her own capacity for love and undertakes a painful self-inquiry, examining the history of her heart and tracing the fault lines of her own fragile identity. What emerges is a mesmerizing tour of a woman's complex past, rendered in the associative logic of memory and desire.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;\u0026lt;p\u0026gt;A gifted storyteller reminiscent of Alice Munro or Joan Didion, Karen Smythe finds poetic complexity in the seeming trivialities of the ordinary. Meditative, philosophical, and confessional, \u0026lt;I\u0026gt;This Side of Sad\u0026lt;\/i\u0026gt; is a provocative and piercing novel that explores the disintegration of a marriage; the enduring colloquy between the living and the dead; and the meaning we find within the random architecture of despair and joy.\u0026lt;\/p\u0026gt;","brand":"Goose Lane Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":65419918639453,"sku":null,"price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1041\/3893\/2573\/files\/9780864929853_FC.jpg?v=1789460812","url":"https:\/\/shop.gazellebookservices.co.uk\/products\/9780864929853","provider":"Gazelle Book Services","version":"1.0","type":"link"}