{"product_id":"the-slaves-of-solitude-9781590172209","title":"The Slaves of Solitude","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Gritty, real, tough, and sardonic.\" --Nick Hornby, author of \u003ci\u003eFunny Girl\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Fabulously poignant.\" --Sarah Waters, author of \u003ci\u003eFingersmith\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cb\u003eAs World War II drags on, the lonely Miss Roach flees London for the dull but ostensible safety of a suburban boarding house in this \"pitch-perfect comedy\" about \"the passions and tensions of war\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e).\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e England in the middle of World War II, a war that seems fated to go on forever, a war that has become a way of life. Heroic resistance is old hat. Everything is in short supply, and tempers are even shorter. Overwhelmed by the terrors and rigors of the Blitz, middle-aged Miss Roach has retreated to the relative safety and stupefying boredom of the suburban town of Thames Lockdon, where she rents a room in a boarding house run by Mrs. Payne. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e There the savvy, sensible, decent, but all-too-meek Miss Roach endures the dinner-table interrogations of Mr. Thwaites and seeks to relieve her solitude by going out drinking and necking with a wayward American lieutenant. Life is almost bearable until Vicki Kugelmann, a seeming friend, moves into the adjacent room. That's when Miss Roach's troubles really begin. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Recounting an epic battle of wills in the claustrophobic confines of the boarding house, Patrick Hamilton's \u003ci\u003eThe Slaves of Solitude\u003c\/i\u003e, with a delightfully improbable heroine, is one of the finest and funniest books ever written about the trials of a lonely heart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e New York Review of Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 02\/20\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781590172209\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.59lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.22h x 4.82w x 0.59d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eCommonweal\u003c\/i\u003e 06\/15\/2007 pg. 34\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/29\/2008 pg. 30\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLondon Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e 01\/29\/2009 pg. 24\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Patrick Hamilton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43103861702837,"sku":"9781590172209","price":15.26,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_d63aa989-7bcf-41e0-92eb-843bc8403d5b.jpg?v=1693281488","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-slaves-of-solitude-9781590172209","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}