{"product_id":"what-we-are-9780802145222","title":"What We Are","description":"A \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice and a blazing and authentic new literary voice, Peter Nathaniel Malae's raw and powerful, bullet-fast debut novel looks at contemporary America through the eyes of one disillusioned son. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat We Are \u003c\/i\u003efollows twenty-eight-year-old Samoan-American Paul Tusifale as he strives to find his place in a culture that barely acknowledges his existence. Within San Jose's landscape of sprawling freeways and dotcom headquarters, where the plight of migrant workers is ever-present, Paul lives outside society, a drifter who takes a personal interest in defiantly--even violently--defending those in need. As he moves through the lives of sinister old friends, suburban cranksters, and septuagenarian swingers, Paul battles to find the wisdom he desperately needs, whether through adhering to tradition or casting it aside. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA dynamic addition to America's diverse literature of the outsider, \u003ci\u003eWhat We Are \u003c\/i\u003eestablishes Peter Nathaniel Malae as an authentic, gifted new writer, whose muscular prose brings to life the pull of a departed father's homeland, the anger of class divisions, the noise of the evening news, and in the end beautifully renders the pathos of the disengaged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Grove Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/08\/2011\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780802145222\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 383\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.78lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.28h x 5.56w x 1.08d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/10\/2011 pg. 28\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Peter Nathaniel Malae","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40138473930933,"sku":"9780802145222","price":12.71,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_6e9841ca-2e9f-4782-b90b-43461fda6bce.jpg?v=1622516152","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/what-we-are-9780802145222","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}