{"product_id":"the-heaven-of-mercury-9780393324655","title":"The Heaven of Mercury","description":"\u003cp\u003eBrad Watson's first novel was eagerly awaited after his breathtaking, award-winning debut collection of short stories, \u003ci\u003eLast Days of the Dog-Men\u003c\/i\u003e. In \u003ci\u003eThe Heaven of Mercury\u003c\/i\u003e, Watson fulfills that literary promise with a humorous and jaundiced eye. Finus Bates has loved Birdie Wells since the day he saw her do a naked cartwheel in the woods in 1916. Later he won her at poker, lost her, then nearly won her again after the mysterious poisoning of her womanizing husband. Does Vish, the old medicine woman down in the ravine, hold the key to Birdie's elusive character? Or does Parnell, the town undertaker, whose unspeakable desires bring lust for life and death together? Or does the secret lie with some other colorful old-timer in Mercury, Mississippi, not such a small town anymore? With \"graceful, patient, insightful and hilarious\" prose (\u003ci\u003eUSA Today\u003c\/i\u003e), Brad Watson chronicles Finus's steadfast devotion and Mercury's evolution from a sleepy backwater to a small city.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e W. W. Norton \u0026amp; Company\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/17\/2003\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780393324655\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 335\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.50h x 5.50w x 1.00d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooksense '76 Sep\/Oct 2003\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2003 pg. 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKliatt\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2003 pg. 20\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Brad Watson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36636902129820,"sku":"9780393324655","price":22.09,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_cf2d0646-8cfa-4390-b3ab-e1b9f62c07f8.jpg?v=1603843304","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-heaven-of-mercury-9780393324655","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}