{"product_id":"the-mere-wife-9781250214942","title":"The Mere Wife","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e bestselling author Maria Dahvana Headley presents a modern retelling of the literary classic \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e, set in American suburbia as two mothers--a housewife and a battle-hardened veteran--fight to protect those they love in \u003ci\u003eThe Mere Wife\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the perspective of those who live in Herot Hall, the suburb is a paradise. Picket fences divide buildings--high and gabled--and the community is entirely self-sustaining. Each house has its own fireplace, each fireplace is fitted with a container of lighter fluid, and outside--in lawns and on playgrounds--wildflowers seed themselves in neat rows. But for those who live surreptitiously along Herot Hall's periphery, the subdivision is a fortress guarded by an intense network of gates, surveillance cameras, and motion-activated lights. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFor Willa, the wife of Roger Herot (heir of Herot Hall), life moves at a charmingly slow pace. She flits between mommy groups, playdates, cocktail hour, and dinner parties, always with her son, Dylan, in tow. Meanwhile, in a cave in the mountains just beyond the limits of Herot Hall lives Gren, short for Grendel, as well as his mother, Dana, a former soldier who gave birth as if by chance. Dana didn't want Gren, didn't plan Gren, and doesn't know how she got Gren, but when she returned from war, there he was. When Gren, unaware of the borders erected to keep him at bay, ventures into Herot Hall and runs off with Dylan, Dana's and Willa's worlds collide.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Picador USA\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/16\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781250214942\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.20h x 5.40w x 0.90d","brand":"Maria Dahvana Headley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36648695890076,"sku":"9781250214942","price":16.15,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_fb73e8e5-72b1-4912-a343-c536811e6331.jpg?v=1603870776","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-mere-wife-9781250214942","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}