{"product_id":"the-royal-family-9780141002002","title":"The Royal Family","description":"\u003cb\u003eA rich, haunting novel of street life in San Francisco's Mission District, from the National Book Award-winning author of\u003ci\u003e Europe Central\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Royal Family\u003c\/i\u003e, William T. Vollmann uses the story of two brothers to construct a haunting series of parallels between the lives of the dispossessed and the anxious middle class. Henry Tyler is a failing private detective in San Francisco. When the love of his life, Irene--who happens to be married to his brother John, an ambitious contract lawyer--commits suicide, he clings despairingly to her ghost. Struggling to turn his grief into something precious, Henry enters into a new life of nightmare beauty and degradation as he attempts to track down the legendary Queen of the Prostitutes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCrafted out of language by turns eloquent, humorous, sensual, and obscene, and full of vividly rendered depictions of low-life bars, office politics, and hobo camps, here are Vollmann's familiar but ever surprising characters--the seekers, the vigilantes, the hypocrites, the sex workers. He has woven their stories into a vivid and unforgettable novel about the eerie paradoxes of possession and loss.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penguin Publishing Group\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/01\/2001\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780141002002\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 800\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.58lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.25h x 6.50w x 1.59d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/09\/2001 pg. 32\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"William T. Vollmann","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43448909496501,"sku":"9780141002002","price":25.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_04107650-81f6-4b41-8163-35f631b066ef.jpg?v=1704214332","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-royal-family-9780141002002","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}