{"product_id":"the-absentee-9781069081407","title":"The Absentee","description":"\u003cp\u003eA young man wakes up in a college dormitory with no idea who he is, where he is or how he got there. Soon he discovers a secret within himself that marks him as an outcast and places him in danger. He tries to solve the riddle of his nature - and whether it means he has a special purpose for good or ill. After the loss of the one person he loves, cryptic clues steer him toward a quest to the ends of the Earth, from Peru to Kyrgyzstan to Tasmania. A time is coming when he will be called on to summon what courage he has for the sake of the humans.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInspirations: \u003c\/strong\u003e Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and Definitely Maybe by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTone: \u003c\/strong\u003e Darkly humorous outsider fiction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIdeal for whom?\u003c\/strong\u003e Introverts. The hero is not by nature a man of action \u003cstrong\u003e-\u003c\/strong\u003e his fate was thrust upon him. He is insular, observant and barely social. He feels the pull of the humans yet flees them as a mortal peril.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Rob McKenzie Publications\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/24\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781069081407\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 298\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.76lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 0.62d","brand":"Rob McKenzie","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45418928406709,"sku":"9781069081407","price":11.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_65e06dab-0dff-4f68-8b29-6c94df99e2b8.jpg?v=1748390348","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-absentee-9781069081407","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}