{"product_id":"if-you-cross-the-river-9781571311207","title":"If You Cross the River","description":"\u003cb\u003eLONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 PEN TRANSLATION PRIZE\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eFrom celebrated Belgian author Genevi ve Damas, a modern fable about friendship, self-determination, and the power of words.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Illiterate, isolated, and held at arm's length by a bitter father, Fran ois Sorrente has spent his seventeen years within narrow confines. By day he tends the family farm's pigs; by night he manages the household chores. Still, Fran ois can't help but wonder about the wider world and his place in it. Who was his mother, who he remembers not at all? And why is the opposite shore of the river, where his beloved older sister disappeared many years ago, forbidden to him? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Propelled by curiosity, Fran ois turns to the eclectic denizens of his town to help make sense of these mysteries. He begins reading lessons with a melancholy cur , falls into an affair with a village woman, and affectionately confides his secrets to a velvet-eared piglet named Hym n e. As Fran ois questions both his origins and the course of his life, he begins to unlock the true story of his mother and sister, and comes to reinvent himself. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Exquisitely translated from the French by poet Jody Gladding, \u003ci\u003eIf You Cross the River\u003c\/i\u003e is a magical debut.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Milkweed Editions\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/14\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781571311207\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.40w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/15\/2019 pg. 20\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 03\/15\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/14\/2019\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Genevi\u0026#232;ve Damas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36660143685788,"sku":"9781571311207","price":13.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_fbae4bbf-3c8d-4fa4-b95a-eebac23d660f.jpg?v=1603896197","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/if-you-cross-the-river-9781571311207","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}