{"product_id":"lame-fate-ugly-swans-9781641600712","title":"Lame Fate Ugly Swans","description":"Never before translated into English, \u003cem\u003eLame Fate \u003c\/em\u003eis the first-person account of middle-aged author Felix Sorokin. When the Soviet Writers' Union asks him to submit a writing sample to a newfangled machine that can supposedly evaluate the \"objective value\" of any literary work, he faces a dilemma. Should he present something establishment-approved but middling, or risk sharing his unpublished masterpiece, which has languished in his desk drawer for years? Sorokin's masterwork is \u003cem\u003eUgly Swans\u003c\/em\u003e, previously published in English as a standalone work but presented here in an authoritative new translation. \u003cem\u003eUgly Swans \u003c\/em\u003echronicles the travails of disgraced literary celebrity Victor Banev, who returns to his provincial hometown to find it haunted by the mysterious \u003cem\u003eclammies--\u003c\/em\u003eblack-masked men residing in a former leper colony. Possessing supernatural talents, including the ability to control the weather, the clammies terrify the town's adult population but enthrall its teenagers, including Banev's daughter Irma. Together, \u003cem\u003eLame Fate \u003c\/em\u003eand \u003cem\u003eUgly Swans \u003c\/em\u003eilluminate some of the Strugatskys' favorite themes--the (im)possibility of political progress, the role of the individual in society, the nature of honor and courage, and the enduring value of art--in consummately entertaining fashion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Chicago Review Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/04\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781641600712\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 400\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.10lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.40w x 1.00d","brand":"Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36664141611164,"sku":"9781641600712","price":16.14,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_94482689-5ef4-4f9b-84f6-9e4d073a4327.jpg?v=1603905878","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/lame-fate-ugly-swans-9781641600712","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}