{"product_id":"ask-9780312680633","title":"Ask","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA searing, beautiful, and deeply comic novel by a young American master\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMilo Burke, a development officer at a third-tier university, has \"not been developing\": after a run-in with a well-connected undergrad, he finds himself among the burgeoning class of the newly unemployed. Grasping after odd jobs to support his wife and child, Milo is offered one last chance by his former employer: he must reel in a potential donor--a major \"ask\"--who, mysteriously, has requested Milo's involvement. But it turns out that the ask is Milo's sinister college classmate Purdy Stuart. And the \"give\" won't come cheap. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProbing many themes-- or, perhaps, anxieties--including work, war, sex, class, child rearing, romantic comedies, Benjamin Franklin, cooking shows on death row, and the eroticization of chicken wire, Sam Lipsyte's \u003ci\u003eThe Ask \u003c\/i\u003eis a burst of genius by an author who has already demonstrated that the truly provocative and important fictions are often the funniest ones.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA\u003ci\u003e New York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003eEditors' Choice\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Picador USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/01\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780312680633\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.24h x 5.58w x 0.89d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/10\/2011 pg. 28\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Sam Lipsyte","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36635947303068,"sku":"9780312680633","price":20.39,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_2362834c-d61c-40f5-a88d-2b0384a43ab7.jpg?v=1603840966","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/ask-9780312680633","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}