{"product_id":"expensive-people-9780812976540","title":"Expensive People","description":"Joyce Carol Oates's Wonderland Quartet comprises four remarkable novels that explore social class in America and the inner lives of young Americans. In Expensive People, Oates takes a provocative and suspenseful look at the roiling secrets of America's affluent suburbs. Set in the late 1960s, this first-person confession is narrated by Richard Everett, a precocious and obese boy who sees himself as a minor character in the alarming drama unfolding around him. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFascinated by yet alienated from his attractive, self-absorbed parents and the privileged world they inhabit, Richard incisively analyzes his own mismanaged childhood, his pretentious private schooling, his \"successful-executive\" father, and his elusive mother. In an act of defiance and desperation, eleven-year-old Richard strikes out in a way that presages the violence of ever-younger Americans in the turbulent decades to come. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA National Book Award finalist, \u003ci\u003eExpensive People\u003c\/i\u003e is a stunning combination of social satire and gothic horror. \"You cannot put this novel away after you have opened it,\" said \u003ci\u003eThe Detroit News\u003c\/i\u003e. \"This is that kind of book-hypnotic, fascinating, and electrifying.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eExpensive People \u003c\/i\u003eis the second novel in the Wonderland Quartet. The books that complete this acclaimed series, A\u003ci\u003e Garden of Earthly Delights\u003c\/i\u003e, them, and \u003ci\u003eWonderland\u003c\/i\u003e, are also available from the Modern Library.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Modern Library\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/12\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780812976540\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.42lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.46h x 5.68w x 0.56d","brand":"Joyce Carol Oates","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43049493921973,"sku":"9780812976540","price":16.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_af1f430f-3e01-4190-a682-1820abdebe20.jpg?v=1689690388","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/expensive-people-9780812976540","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}