{"product_id":"the-presence-of-absence-9781567927443","title":"The Presence of Absence","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Impossible to resist.\"--\u003ci\u003eIlya Kaminsky\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A moving, brilliant book.\"--\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAnn Beattie\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs a writer lies dying, he has one last story to tell: a tale of faith and devotion, a meditation on what lies beyond this life, and a prayer of gratitude that may lead to rebirth. This is Simon Van Booy at his visionary best. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Language is a map leading to a place not on the map,\" announces a young writer lying in a hospital bed at the beginning of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Presence of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e. As he contemplates his impending physical disappearance and the impact on his beloved wife, he realizes, \"Life doesn't start when you're born . . . it begins when you commit yourself to the eventual devastating loss that results from connecting to another person.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eInfused with poetic clarity and graced with humor, Simon Van Booy's innovative novella asks the reader to find beauty--even gratitude--in the cycle of birth and death. Stripped of artifice, \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Presence of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e is a meditation between the writer and the reader, an imaginative work that challenges the deceit of written words and explores our strongest emotions. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSimon Van Booy is not only a master storyteller but a writer whose fiction is rich with philosophical insights into things both mapped and undiscovered. \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Presence of Absence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e parts the darkness to reveal what has been just out of sight all along.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e David R. Godine Publisher\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/15\/2022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781567927443\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 4.88h x 7.56w x 0.94d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/01\/2022\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Simon Van Booy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42389523300533,"sku":"9781567927443","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_620a4a1d-8c70-4453-94eb-8c4389b920ce.jpg?v=1663681742","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-presence-of-absence-9781567927443","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}