{"product_id":"things-a-story-of-the-sixties-and-a-man-asleep-9781567928792","title":"Things: A Story of the Sixties and a Man Asleep","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne couple consumed by things. One man liberated by indifference. Two haunting explorations of the things we own--and the things that own us.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThings: A Story of the Sixties\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e, Jerome and Sylvie, a young, upwardly mobile couple lust for the good life, caught between the fantasy of \"the film they would have liked to live\" and the reality of life's daily mundanities. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe nameless student in \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eA Man Asleep\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e attempts to purify himself entirely of material desires and ambition. He longs \"to want nothing. Just to wait, until there is nothing left to wait for. Just to wander, and to sleep.\" Yearning to exist on neutral ground as \"a blessed parenthesis,\" he discovers something unexpected. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the American publication of \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLife: A User's Manual\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e in 1987, Georges Perec was recognized in the United States as one of the century's most innovative writers. \u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThings: A Story of the Sixties\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e is accessible, sobering, and deeply involving. Each distills Perec's unerring grasp of the human condition and displays his rare comic talent, detachment, and compassion.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Verba Mundi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/29\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781567928792\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224","brand":"Georges Perec","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52933862817973,"sku":"9781567928792","price":16.11,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/things-a-story-of-the-sixties-and-a-man-asleep-9781567928792","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}