{"product_id":"the-cry-of-the-sloth-9781566892315","title":"The Cry of the Sloth","description":"\u003cp\u003eLiving on a diet of fried Spam, vodka, sardines, cupcakes, and Southern Comfort, Andrew Whittaker is slowly being sucked into the morass of middle age. A negligent landlord, small-time literary journal editor, and aspiring novelist, he is--quite literally-- authoring his own downfall. From his letters, diary entries, and fragments of fiction, to grocery lists and posted signs, this novel is a collection of everything Whittaker commits to paper over the course of four critical months.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeginning in July, during the economic hardships of the Nixon era, we witness our hero hounded by tenants and creditors, harassed by a loathsome local arts group, and tormented by his ex-wife. Determined to redeem his failures and eviscerate his enemies, Whittaker hatches a grand plan. But as winter nears, his difficulties accumulate, and the disorder of his life threatens to overwhelm him. As his hold on reality weakens and his schemes grow wilder, his self-image as a placid and slow-moving sloth evolves into that of a bizarre and frantic creature driven mad by solitude.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this tragicomic portrait of a literary life, Sam Savage proves that all the evidence is in the writing, that all the world is, indeed, a stage, and that escape from the mind's prison requires a command performance.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Coffee House Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781566892315\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.70h x 4.90w x 0.70d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2009 pg. 30\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2009 pg. 74\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2009\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2009 pg. 26\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly Best Books\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/02\/2009 pg. 24\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/08\/2009 pg. 32\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sam Savage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42095531753653,"sku":"9781566892315","price":12.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_7768b713-0df3-4cee-8035-4fd2d87f7d5d.jpg?v=1651587165","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-cry-of-the-sloth-9781566892315","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}