{"product_id":"mefisto-9781567928471","title":"Mefisto","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A novel of virtuosic scope.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA Faustian fever dream of numbers, knowledge, and the darkness that lurks beyond comprehension. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eGabriel Swan is a math prodigy obsessed with the idea of order. He sees the world not in words, but in numbers. Compelled to find the elusive code behind life itself, he plunges into a search for absolute meaning. But when he meets Felix--a charismatic, otherworldly stranger who seems to hold the answers--Gabriel's journey takes a darker turn. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe becomes involved with a mesmerizing trio formed by sad, obese Mr. Kasperl, who is like someone \"from a country where no one else lived\"; lovely, mute Sophie; and the Mephistophelian Felix, whose appearances always foretoken disaster. In an abandoned mansion, their changing relations, and Gabriel's quest for a \"formula that will reduce the disorder of common things\u003cbr\u003eto an equation,\" slowly and inevitably land him in his own private season in Hell. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInspired by the legend of Faust, \u003ci\u003eMefisto\u003c\/i\u003e is a dazzling, philosophical novel about genius, obsession, and the limits of rationality. With his trademark prose--elegant, luminous, and hypnotic--Banville transforms myth into a haunting study of human fragility and the borders of reality.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e David R. Godine Publisher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/10\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781567928471\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.65lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.50w x 0.70d","brand":"John Banville","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52284316876981,"sku":"9781567928471","price":16.11,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_bea765d0-9e37-4799-b057-4040f373e675.jpg?v=1771990620","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/mefisto-9781567928471","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}